August 2014

SUNDAY, AUGUST 31, 2014

CLOSET CHRISTIANS

"On the evening of that FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK (Sunday), WHEN THE DISCIPLES WERE TOGETHER, with THE DOORS LOCKED FOR FEAR of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you! (John 20:19)"

Is there such thing as a "closet" Christian?

Being Christian in the first, second and third centuries A.D. WASN'T popular; at least not with the religious establishment or government authorities.

Belief in Jesus Christ as God, Messiah and only Redeemer of mankind could VERY EASILY cost someone their life.

It could mean having their families killed or sold into slavery.

It could mean having all their property confiscated.

It could mean being tortured to death, crucified or torn by wild beasts in Rome's infamous Coliseum.

Yet the BRAVE, committed Christians of that era DIDN'T HESITATE to pay the highest price rather than denounce their Lord, or their faith.

Sure, there were underground churches.

Sure, there was a measure of secrecy because persecution was relentless.

But, from that watershed day of Pentecost in 33 A.D. forward -- when the Church was Spirit-born -- they DID NOT keep their faith a secret (Acts 2:1-4,14-38,41).

If they had, the Christian faith WOULD NOT have spread ALL OVER THE WORLD, like it did (Acts 17:6).

If they had, the Christian faith WOULD NOT have SWALLOWED UP the greatest military machine known to man PEACEABLY, in just three centuries. Glory to Jesus!

When push came to shove, those BOLD, HEROIC brothers and sisters - empowered by God's Holy Spirit -- STOOD UP for their Lord and refused to renounce Him, REGARDLESS of the cost, EVEN WHEN THEIR OWN LIVES WERE ON THE LINE.

Contrast that with today's "Christians" -- at least those in the Western Hemisphere -- who are TOO COWARDLY to share Jesus with others, for "FEAR" of being "unpopular"...

For FEAR of being labeled "intolerant".

For FEAR of being "rejected".

For FEAR of being ridiculed.

For FEAR of not being "cool".

For FEAR of having to answer their critics.

(If they spent a little time communing with Jesus in spirit, studying and meditating His Word, they WOULD HAVE answers, as the Scripture says they SHOULD, 1 Peter 3:15).

NO ONE'S THREATENING their LIVES, mind you.

NO ONE'S PERSECUTING THEM.

But THE VAST MAJORITY NEVER takes three minutes of their time to share Jesus with an unbeliever.

NEVER!!!

All they're good for is "preaching to the choir".

Let the world GO TO HELL, we don't need those "secular" TV stations! We now have "Christian" TV!!!

You know, where STUPID Christians supposedly "own" the network.

You PAID FOR IT, alright. But you DON'T OWN IT.

If you did, you'd be living like THE REAL OWNERS LIVE: in multimillionaire mansions, wearing Armani and Rolexes, getting more plastic surgery than Cher, driving Bentleys, flying in private jets, taking extravagant vacations, being sued by members of your own family, and with an ever-present entourage, including several bodyguards, always hanging around.

Let Hollywood DISRESPECT Jesus and MOCK Him and the Christian faith, in worthless movie after worthless piece of trash, we now make our "own" "Christian" films to PREACH TO THE CHOIR.

We now do it COVERTLY and SUBLIMINALLY (heaven help us, and may God have mercy on their DECEIVED AND GUTLESS souls).

We have so-called "Christian" entertainers WHO ARE SO WORLDLY that you can't even TELL THE DIFFERENCE between them and the Kardashians.

Let the world die and go to hell, why should I bother to participate in a SECULAR FORUM, WHICH UNBELIEVERS READ, and where I can SAFELY and ANONYMOUSLY share my faith?

TV stations, secular magazines, newspapers and entertaining websites - just to name a few -- have such forums, where 95% of readers are UNSAVED.

Dear God, you could MAKE A FULL TIME MINISTRY of just shining the Light of Gospel Truth in those!

Forget it! We even have OUR OWN INTERNET FORUMS where, instead of preaching to THE LOST WORLD, we DEVOTE OUR SORRY TIME AND LIVES TO IMPRESSING OTHER BELIEVING NITWITS WITH OUR PROPHETIC DIVINATION, UNFOUNDED OPINIONS, "SAGE THEORIES" AND "HOW MUCH" WE THINK we know.

Funny thing, ATHEISTS have no qualms about sharing their views OPENLY with everyone. They DON'T CARE if it's "unpopular".

ABORTION ADVOCATES have no problems expressing their views PROUDLY and openly.

SATANISTS and OCCULTISTS have no problems.

PORNOGRAPHERS have no problems.

EVEN NEWS ANCHORS, who are constantly in the public eye, and risk some degree of public backlash, have NO PROBLEMS openly stating their sexual orientation.

Only "Christians" are TOO TIMID to share Jesus.

Only "Christians" are TOO SCARED to "COME OUT OF THE CLOSET" and PROUDLY AND OPENLY share Christ.

There's NO SUCH THING AS "a closet Christian".

There's NEVER BEEN such thing.

Thank God the Early Church WASN'T "in the closet" or you and I WOULDN'T BE SAVED.

You "SAY" you're Christian.

But TALK is CHEAP.

If you really are, don't tell the Church, TELL THE WORLD!!!

SATURDAY, AUGUST 30. 2014

COMMON DENOMINATOR

One question I am asked constantly is "what denomination do you belong to"?

It amuses me how insecure religious people are, that they become mystified unless they can peg you into a certain denominational "category".

I REFUSE to allow artificial, man-invented barriers to separate me from brothers and sisters of ALL stripes. Therefore, I catch criticism from ALL sides:

Insecure Evangelicals who immediately pounce on ANY uncritical thing I say about Catholics.

Insecure Catholics who want me to believe that the "true" faith is theirs, and theirs alone.

Insecure Messianics who insist that, even though Jesus ALREADY PAID FOR ALL our sins [past, present, and future] and put His own HOLY NATURE inside us, we still have to live by the 10 Commandments, instead of LIVING IN the freedom of the spirit.

And of course, INSECURE heretics, who accuse me of being one.

What's a BIBLICAL Christian to do? I pray for them all, preach to all, mingle with all, and LOVE THEM ALL.

I won't even allow their prejudice to alienate me.

Why not? Because I KNOW, from the Bible, that regardless of what goes on OUTWARDLY, ALL BORN AGAIN Christians ARE ONE INWARDLY.

Anyone can CALL HIMSELF "Christian".

What REALLY makes someone Christian is not what they call themselves. It's not denomination, style of worship, church hierarchy, church history, membership numbers, church attendance, church sacraments, good deeds, or even DOCTRINE.

I am a stickler for BIBLICAL doctrine, but EVEN THAT doesn't determine who's Christian and who isn't.

If you don't, you could have the most perfect doctrine, yet you're lost.

The Holy Spirit, God Himself, His VERY OWN Holy Nature INSIDE OUR HEARTS, is THE ONE COMMON DENOMINATOR ALL TRUE CHRISTIANS SHARE.

Hence, ALL true Christians are One SPIRITUALLY with our Lord Jesus Christ, and with each other.

That's a fact. I don't care who likes it, or doesn't like it, who agrees or disagrees.

And the ENTIRE Body of Christ better start warming up to that fact, the sooner the better.

The Christian "label" you wear doesn't make you Christian any more than wearing Armani makes you a designer.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 29, 2014

HIS WAY OR NO WAY

If you had committed a serious crime, for which the penalty was life in prison or even the death penalty, went before the judge and he asked if you wanted A SECOND CHANCE to make things right, be forgiven, and have your record expunged, YOU'D JUMP at the opportunity.

You'd say "Yes, your honor! JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT, and I'll do ANYTHING you say".

Who wants to die by lethal injection or spend his life behind bars, right?

You'd do ANYTHING he asked, without the slightest protestation, and AS SOON AS humanly possible.

You'd be ETERNALLY GRATEFUL for that "second chance", and for getting a FULL PARDON.

It would mean that you could start life ALL OVER with TOTAL FREEDOM, no baggage, NO CONDEMNATION, and NO GUILT.

You wouldn't have to "SERVE YOUR SENTENCE".

Most important, the CONSEQUENCES of your crime would vanish FOREVER.

NEVER in your wildest dreams would you have the ARROGANCE -- not to mention the sheer STUPIDITY -- of telling the judge "well... LET ME THINK ABOUT IT". Or: "well... I want a second opportunity, but it's got to be THE WAY I WANT". Or: "I WANT TO get a FULL PARDON ON MY TERMS".

Even if you had a single-digit I.Q. you'd know that YOU WERE AT THE JUDGE'S MERCY and IN NO POSITION WHATSOEVER to make demands.

You'd realize that the judge would be INSULTED, throw your sorry behind in jail and you'd never see the light of day again.

And yet, MILLIONS OF PEOPLE have adopted THAT EXACT ATTITUDE, not with some mortal judge whose punishment would only last until your life on earth ends, BUT BEFORE A HOLY, RIGHTEOUS, IMMORTAL and Almighty God, who can throw your whole being into a lake of never-ending torment.

If you asked most people if they want to be in good standing with God, or if they want to go to heaven, or have ALL THEIR SINS FORGIVEN and ERASED FOREVER, the vast majority would answer in the affirmative.

After all, who in his or her right mind would want to go to hell, right? But WHEN OFFERED THAT OPPORTUNITY, to be TOTALLY FORGIVEN, not only in this life, but for ALL ETERNITY, too many people GIVE THE SAME DUMB ANSWERS LISTED ABOVE:

"Well, let me THINK about it".

"Sure, I want forgiveness of EVERY sin I've ever committed, BUT IT'S GOTTA BE MY WAY". "I want to be in good standing with God and enjoy a blissful afterlife BUT GOD HAS TO ACCOMMODATE MY WISHES". "I want salvation and forgiveness UNDER MY TERMS".

"I want to reach heaven MY WAY".

I can almost hear Satan rolling on the floor, laughing at your idiocy.

By His Death on the cross, Resurrection and Ascension Jesus Christ has FOREVER RESOLVED the sin problem, FREEING US OF ANY GUILT OR PUNISHMENT, since He TOOK the punishment IN OUR STEAD.

And ALL God asks of you is that you receive Christ into your heart, believe He died for your sins and rose from the dead and, from that moment forward, COMPLETELY TRUST WHAT HE DID TO SAVE YOU.

That's ALL!!!

Meet those simple, easy requirements AND YOU GET OFF SCOT FREE!!!

There's NO BETTER OFFER ANYWHERE IN THE WHOLE UNIVERSE!

And yet, MILLIONS pass on that golden opportunity each day.

Millions POSTPONE those simple requirements and SIT ON THE FENCE.

Millions HAVE THE GALL TO TRY TO DICTATE TO GOD THE TERMS under which He SHOULD GRANT them FULL PARDON.

I don't know who invented the phrase "beggars can't be choosy", but he or she WAS RIGHT.

Do you want A FULL PARDON, do you want ETERNAL LIFE, do you want TOTAL FREEDOM FROM CONDEMNATION, AND ASSURANCE OF NEVER-ENDING SALVATION? It's yours FOR THE TAKING.

But it's GOTTA BE GOD'S WAY.

His Way is Jesus.

His Way IS ONLY Jesus (John 14:6).

There's NO OTHER Way (Acts 4:12).

God will grant you ALL THOSE PRICELESS AND MAGNIFICENT BLESSINGS, and some you can't even imagine, FOR FREE.

But it's gotta be HIS way.

You're in NO POSITION to make demands.

You're in NO POSITION to set "conditions".

The choice is yours:

It's His Way (JESUS), or NO WAY.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 2014

WHAT ARE THE ODDS?

40 years ago, the late Peter Stoner, Chairman of the Departments of Mathematics and Astronomy at Pasadena City College, and Professor Emeritus of Science at Westmont College, calculated the probability that ONE INDIVIDUAL could fulfill JUST 8 of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Jewish Messiah as one in 100,000,000,000,000,000.

That's one in ONE HUNDRED QUADRILLIONS.

That figure is INCOMPREHENSIBLE to the human mind.

We are simply INCAPABLE of grasping the SHEER ENORMITY OF IT.

But what if that ONE INDIVIDUAL fulfilled, NOT JUST 8, but 48 such prophecies?

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2014

ABOMINABLE DOME

There are approximately 13,000 blogs and websites spreading THE UNSCRIPTURAL LIE that the Dome of the Rock is the "abomination of desolation" of which Jesus spoke in Matthew 24:15.

There are also several "Christian" books on the market, and a "Christian" "news" website that spread this ABOMINABLE LIE which CONTRADICTS God.

Let's examine THE FACTS:

1. The Dome of the Rock was finished in 691 A.D. It has been standing atop the falsely called "Temple Mount" FOR 1,323 YEARS.

Daniel 8:13-14 pointedly states that the Abomination of Desolation would be standing for 1,150 days (2,300 evening and morning offerings or hatamid), then the temple WOULD BE CLEANSED or "made right". 1,150 days is a bit over 3 LUNAR YEARS of 360 days. This makes perfect sense since the tribulation lasts 3½ years and the Abomination of Desolation must happen during that specified period (Daniel 7:25; 12:7; Revelation 11:2; 12:6, 14; 13:5).

Since the Dome has been standing for 1,323 years (1,320 years MORE than Jesus indicated), there's NO WAY the Dome could be the abomination of desolation.

2. For those who FALSELY CLAIM that the 2,300 days refer ONLY to the abomination of desolation established by Antiochus Epiphanes, they're DEAD WRONG.

Daniel 8:17, 19, 23 and 26 say NO FEWER THAN 4 times that this vision "concerns the TIME OF THE END".

Unless they want to argue that the "TIME OF THE END" took place, 2,178 years ago, their theory DOESN'T HOLD WATER.

Even if that nonsensical argument were made, then we must ask, if the end happened OVER TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO:

Why did Jesus refer to the Abomination of Desolation as A FUTURE EVENT in Matthew 24:15?

WHY IS THE CHURCH STILL HERE?

WHY HASN'T JESUS RETURNED?

AND HOW COULD "THE END" HAPPEN BEFORE HIS RETURN?

Clearly, these are questions for which NONE OF THE DECEIVERS that abound in Christendom has any remotely credible answers.

Moreover, because Jesus and Gabriel KNEW, in the 6th century B.C., that there would be people WHO BLATANTLY LIE, supposedly "in Jesus' Name", he specifically said in Daniel 8:26:

"The vision of the (2,300) evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision, for IT CONCERNS THE DISTANT FUTURE."

Period: End of THAT dumb story.

3. For those LIARS who claim the 2,300 evening and mornings refer to "years", there is NOTHING ANYWHERE in the text that suggests these are years: Erev ALWAYS means evening and bokker ALWAYS means morning. NOWHERE, in the entire Bible, do these Hebrew words mean "years".

4. We have THE WORDS OF JESUS HIMSELF:

"WHEN YOU THEREFORE SHALL SEE THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoever reads, let him understand) Then LET THEM WHO ARE IN JUDEA FLEE INTO THE MOUNTAINS...

FOR THEN SHALL BE GREAT TRIBULATION, SUCH AS WAS NOT SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD TO THIS TIME, NO, NOR EVER SHALL BE.

And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there SHALL ARISE FALSE CHRISTS AND FALSE PROPHETS, and SHALL SHOW GREAT SIGNS AND WONDERS; so that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect" (Matthew 24:15-24).

Questions: If the Dome is the "abomination of desolation" and it has stood for 1,323 years:

WHEN DID THOSE IN JUDEA "flee to the mountains"?

When the Dome was built there was NO JEWISH POPULATION in Jerusalem of which to speak. Thus, Jesus' statement would have been false.

WHEN DID this "GREAT TRIBULATION", without precedent in human history, take place?

WHO was the Antichrist? (If the Dome were the Abomination, he would have had to appear around 691 A.D. when the Dome was built).

WHO WAS the FALSE PROPHET? (He COULDN'T be Mohammed, since A) he had died 52 years PRIOR TO the construction of the Dome, and B) he DIDN'T perform ANY "great signs and wonders".

WHAT were the "GREAT signs and wonders" that could possibly deceive EVEN THE ELECT?

5. Furthermore, there's CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE, from the Bible AND secular history, that the temples NEVER STOOD on the so-called Temple Mount.

Hence anything standing on the Temple Mount (including the Dome of the Rock) CANNOT BE the "abomination of desolation".

That teaching is FALSE, UNBIBLICAL, and A TOTAL LIE, from beginning to end.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2014

THE MIDDLE EAST PUZZLE

After learning of the barbaric events carried out by terrorists, especially this past week...

After marveling at our President's apathy, reluctance and indecision, even when his top advisers are saying that "we've never encountered anything like this before" and that there's urgent need to take decisive action...

(I can't ever recall a U.S. Secretary of Defense looking and sounding AS SCARED as Chuck Hagel came across a few days ago).

After learning of the IDF foiling a coup attempt by "unity government partner" Hamas to topple the so-called Palestinian Authority (PA)...

And after learning of the PA's "gratitude" towards Israel of planning to ask the UN to pass a resolution demanding Israel withdraw to pre-1967 borders by a certain "deadline" (dream on, Mahmoud)...

What really hit home is how complicated the Middle East puzzle is becoming.

Not that it's ever been easy.

It's not a question of fighting or preventing terrorism any more, but rather WHICH terrorists.

We thought Hamas and Hezbollah were terrorists, and THEY ARE.

Then came even more wicked Al Qaeda...

And now we have this monstrous, infernal terrorist group ISIS that commits the most heinous atrocities not just against Christians and Kurds, but AGAINST THEIR FELLOW MUSLIMS!!!

They have no national allegiance, since their members come from different countries.

Their corrupt, satanic mindset has them convinced that if they die for "allah" they'll "merit" heaven.

And their only commitment seems to be to their ultra-barbaric brand of Islamic savagery.

By waiting this long, allowing ISIS to murder, decapitate and take territory, military assets and money UNDETERRED, we're now faced with the grim prospect that, in order to defeat them, we may have to "side" (Lord, have mercy) with Iran and Syria's Assad.

We're forced to settle for the lesser of two great evils.

If you doubt the validity of Bible prophecy, if you think when Jesus spoke of "DISTRESS OF NATIONS with PERPLEXITY (NOT KNOWING WHICH WAY TO TURN)" He was just throwing words around... (Luke 21:25)

If you think when He predicted "wars and rumors of wars, nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom, famines and earthquakes" JUST PRIOR TO HIS APPEARING He was just joking... (Matthew 24:6-8)

Or that He was just kidding when He predicted plagues AND TERROR (Luke 21:11).

You must be dumb, deaf and blind.

Just look around...

There's an outbreak of Ebola, the Iceland volcano is threatening to erupt, and in the past three days there have been earthquakes magnitude 6 or higher on the Richter in Chile, Peru, and Napa, California.

I won't even go into the terrible unrest going on in Libya, or the formation of yet another "caliphate" in northern Nigeria by terrorist group Boko Haran. You know, the one that kidnaps young girls then sells them into slavery.

Even veteran CBS journalist Bob Shieffer recently said that in his 45 years in the news business, he'd never seen SO MUCH TROUBLE going on in the world.

If there was ever a time to seek Jesus with all our hearts, if there was ever a time to PUT HIM FIRST - above ALL else - and FOCUS on Him, THIS is IT.

MONDAY, AUGUST 25, 2014

GOD DOESN'T SPEAK TO ME

That's what you think.

Actually, He has spoken to you hundreds, if not thousands, of times.

Problem is, YOU WEREN'T LISTENING.

God speaks to us PRIMARILY through His written Word (2 Timothy 3:16).

If we never read it or hear it, how do we expect Him to speak to us?

Sadly, our generation HAS CHOSEN to get their "truth" from YouTube, rather than from "it is written".

Too bad YouTube wasn't around in the first century. I can just imagine Jesus telling Satan when tempted "it is seen on YouTube..." (Matthew 4:4).

God is not limited in any way, shape or form and can communicate with us in a number of ways, some of which we haven't thought of and can't even imagine.

Though such instances are VERY INFREQUENT, He has communicated through animals, through signs, dreams, visions, through prophets, angels, and through an AUDIBLE voice.

However, there's ANOTHER principal way in which He speaks to us, and that's through His Spirit WITHIN US (Romans 8:14; 1 John 2:27).

Unfortunately, this way is not taught, cultivated or developed in Christendom.

It's not taught in Sunday School, churches, or in Christian colleges and universities.

And those who speak about it DO NOT TREASURE the invaluable experience of listening to God's INNER Voice, and hearing DIRECTLY from Him Spirit to spirit.

Instead, they USE the ALLEGED "Voice" of the Spirit TO MANIPULATE THEIR BRETHREN AND CHEAT THEM OUT OF MONEY, PRETENDING TO have "heard from God".

The Spirit's INNER Voice and promptings are NOT usually given TO TELL ANOTHER PERSON what to do, BUT TO TELL US WHAT TO DO (or NOT).

The Spirit speaks in order to guide us, to reveal some neglected Truth given in God's Word, to reveal SOLUTIONS to whatever circumstances we face, TO INSTRUCT us, and, most of all, to deepen our relationship with our God and Savior.

The religious clown (or "clown-ess") that stands in front of a TV camera and says "the Spirit just told me that someone watching needs to send in $10,000 right now" has NO MORE HEARD from the HOLY Spirit than I heard from Genghis Khan.

It takes IMPARTIAL, SINCERE SEEKING of His inner Voice and some PRACTICE, but it's WELL WORTH the time and energy put into it.

If you want the Spirit to TELL YOU WHAT YOU WANT TO hear, that's NOT impartial.

If you're looking for Him to rubber stamp the DESIRE OF YOUR HEART, especially when such desire IS CONTRARY TO HIS WORD, you're INSINCERE and, as such, SELF-DECEIVED.

It's NOT about what WE want, it's about what He WANTS (Mark 14:36).

The Holy Spirit is God. He CANNOT be manipulated. And He CANNOT be fooled.

He KNOWS your heart, better than you know it!

As a very precious brother named David recently reminded me, when God spoke from heaven after Jesus predicted His death, and asked the Father to "glorify His Name", some who had "ears to hear" heard Him say "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again".

The rest who witnessed the event ONLY HEARD THUNDER (John 12:28-29).

God's INNER VOICE WILL NEVER CONTRADICT His written Word.

And when we hear His INNER Voice and then He backs it up with the written Word, WE KNOW we're on to something.

Those who seek Jesus with ALL THEIR HEARTS, WILL "HEAR" His INNER Voice.

And those who hear His Voice, will treasure Him/it FOREVER.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 24, 2014

POWER OF SEEDS

Seeds are amazing. They are tiny, but grow large. They seem insignificant, but are full of power.

Because of their small size, they often go unnoticed.

Seeds carry LIFE within themselves. That's why, when you plant them, they grow into plants or trees.

The ancient Egyptians were so impressed by them, that they often buried their dead next to jars full of seeds, representing rebirth and their belief in the afterlife.

Such jars have been unearthed by archaeologist, from Egyptian tombs dating back several millennia and, when planted, the seeds have sprouted... even after lying dormant for thousands of years.

In 1 Corinthians 15:36-49 Paul uses the sowing and sprouting of seeds as analogy for the resurrection and transformation of believers.

Funny thing about seeds is, they ALWAYS reproduce after their kind.

If you plant apples, you won't get pears.

If you plant oranges, you'll get oranges, not lemons (Genesis 1:11).

Jesus compared the WHOLE Kingdom of God to a seed.

Our Lord stated that, even though the mustard seed is one of the tiniest seeds, it grows into a huge tree with very large branches. So large, that birds nestle and take refuge in them (Matthew 13:32; Mark 4:32).

God's Seed is planted in the hearts (spirits) of those who've received Jesus as Lord (1 John 3:9).

It may seem tiny and inconspicuous right now. So much so, that it may go unnoticed.

In most cases, it's hard to tell the difference between those who carry His Seed, and those who don't.

But make no mistake about it: that Seed will grow. That Seed will become something so huge, it will fill the earth (Mark 4:27).

That Seed is alive. That Seed is Holy.

Those who carry that Holy Seed (Christ) within themselves are also holy,regardless of how they look (or act) on the outside.

God's Word (His Seed) does not return void (Isaiah 55:11).

Galatians 6:9 assures us that "IN GOOD SEASON we shall reap"...

You may have forgotten that spiritual Seed that was planted in you years ago, but Jesus hasn't forgotten. His Spirit hasn't forgotten.

That Seed will, sooner or later, germinate and produce the fruit of righteousness.

That Seed will produce after His kind. It will produce Jesus IN you.

According to Genesis 3:15, that Seed PLANTED in our spirit, will overcome topple and crush Satan's seed that was planted in our natural minds when man sinned.

It's that Seed that will cause our transformation from mortal to immortal (1 Corinthians 15:50-55).

His Seed in us WILL OVERCOME all that this corrupt world, or the devil himself, can throw our way (1 John 5:4).

Do you have His Seed? If you do, it's the greatest treasure you possess.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2014

CLEAR SALVATION

"Above all else, GUARD YOUR HEART, for everything you do flows from it" (Proverbs 4:23).

"The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not covet," AND WHATEVER OTHER COMMAND THERE MAY BE, ARE SUMMED UP IN THIS ONE COMMAND:

"Love your neighbor AS YOURSELF.

LOVE DOES NO HARM TO A NEIGHBOR. Therefore LOVE IS THE FULFILLMENT OF THE LAW" (Romans 13:9-10).

The MOMENT we post a message about THE ABSOLUTE ASSURANCE of ETERNAL Salvation in Christ, I know we're going to receive a bunch of emails from CONFUSED Christians asking for "clarification":

"Are you telling me that if the Rapture takes place and someone is committing adultery, they'll be saved and raptured?"

IF they're born again, the answer is a resounding "YES!".

But that doesn't seem fair...

I know: Grace, by definition, DOES NOT DISH OUT WHAT WE JUSTLY DESERVE.

Grace, by definition, is GOODNESS AND SALVATION THAT WE DO NOT - repeat, DO NOT - DESERVE.

If we all got "what we deserve" we'd ALL be in deep manure.

Salvation CANNOT be earned or deserved... EVER. It is A GIFTthat we DO NOT deserve now, and WILL NEVER deserve (Romans 6:23).

Fact is, JESUS ALREADY PAID for that/those sin(s).

Yes, IF that person has been BORN AGAIN, that individual IS SAVED, and will be raptured.

Now comes the other question:

Since Jesus removed ALL SIN FOR ALL TIME, can I get saved and sin DELIBERATELY, because I KNOW that I'm saved and my salvation CANNOT be lost?

IF YOU HAVE TO ASK, chances are YOU'RE NOT SAVED, and I would encourage anyone with that kind of attitude TO DEEPLY EXAMINE his/her heart.

When someone HAS TRULY given his/her heart to Jesus, THEY DON'T WANT TO SIN. They DON'T SEEK sinning.

Why? Because we have His HOLY Spirit LIVING IN us.

We LOVE JESUS and DON'T WANT TO do ANYTHING that displeases Him.

We want to set a good example for others, particularly unbelievers.

We may fall into sin from time to time BECAUSE OF WEAKNESS OF THE FLESH, but when we do -- I can tell you from PERSONAL EXPERIENCE -- we feel awful, the Holy Spirit within us is grieved, our conscience bothers us and we feel compelled to fall on our knees, REPENT and beg His forgiveness -- EVEN WHEN WE KNOW THAT HE ALREADY FORGAVE US AND PAID FOR THAT/THOSE SIN(S).

And you soon realize that the 10 minutes of physical and/or emotional pleasure you may get from sinning, ARE NOT WORTH IT.

And even though we may succumb to that/those sins again in the future because of flesh weakness and unrenewed human mind, we have the SINCERE DESIRE NOT TO commit that/those sins ever again.

Likewise, born-again people who, in the process of sinning, HURT or HARM others, especially a spouse or children, are REPENTANT, apologetic, and TRY TO CHANGE AND MAKE AMENDS.

Anyone who claims to be saved and can callously hurt and betray someone else without any compunction, should do a serious and thorough examination of their own heart.

The problem IS NOT the sin itself, since ALL sin has been removed by Jesus FOR ALL TIME.

As hideous, evil and hurtful as it may be, SIN IS NOT - repeat, NOT - the problem.

The problem is THAT PERSON'S HEART HASN'T BEEN REGENERATED (born again). And you CAN'T SEE OR ENTER God's Kingdom with an unregenerate heart (John 3:3-5).

Are you going to tell me that YOU HAVE LOVE HIMSELF LIVING IN YOU and you DON'T CARE ABOUT hurting another person?

Are you going to tell me that God lives in you when you SEEK DOING WHAT GOD DISLIKES - CONSTANTLY AND ON PURPOSE?

...With no regrets and your conscience doesn't even bother you?

You may fool others into thinking that you're Christian.

But God knows each and every heart.

NO ONE is fooling Him.

It all boils down TO THE HUMAN HEART.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2014

APPRECIATION OF DONKEYS

A few of our readers recently pointed out that I had been unfair to donkeys, by comparing pro-Arab, anti-Jewish idiot Javier Bardem to these nice animals.

By golly, they were right:

I owe donkeys an apology.

These obedient creatures have faithfully served man since time immemorial.

So, after thoroughly repenting, I thought I'd show my appreciation for these humble, useful, hard-working beasts.

And, I assure you, that I mean "beast' in THE VERY BEST sense of the word.

In Exodus 34:20 they are equivalent in value to a lamb.

In Numbers 22:30 we have a donkey who actually SPOKE!!!

It doesn't say much for greedy Balaam when God had to use A DONKEY to get through to him!

Maybe God could use some donkeys to speak to some of the greedy religious traffickers we have today, and knock some sense into their avaricious skulls.

In Judges 15:16 Samson uses the jawbone of a donkey to destroy A THOUSAND Philistines, the forerunners of today's "Palestinians".

Since the IDF has named its anti-rocket system "Iron Dome" and is rumored to be working on another even more sophisticated, two-step interceptor named "David's Sling", I think they should name the next one hahamor lehi "The Donkey's Jawbone".

In Exodus 23:12 God commands that the Sabbath should be a day of REST, not only for humans, but for oxen AND DONKEYS:

Since the 24-hour Sabbath is a mere shadow of the TRUE Sabbath OF REST, who is none other than Jesus (Colossians 2:16-17), that means that the animal kingdom in general, and DONKEYS in particular, CAN ALSO REST in Him, and BE ASSURED of maximum redemption.

If we believe traditional Nativity scenes, there was at least ONE DONKEY present at Jesus' Birth in Bethlehem, near the sukka in which He was born, witnessing the blessed event.

Although Bethlehem was mainly a town of sheep and shepherds, who knows? It might have been that donkey's feeding troth (manger) on which Baby Jesus was laid after being wrapped in swaddling cloths.

In 1 Samuel 16:20 we have David, before he became King of Israel, riding a donkey to bring food to his brothers who served in Israel's army.

But THE GREATEST DONKEY VERSE in the entire Bible has got to be Zechariah 9:9:

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, your King comes unto you: HE IS JUST, AND HAVING SALVATION; LOWLY, AND RIDING UPON A DONKEY, and upon a colt the foal of a donkey".

A cute, submissive, female donkey (filly) played a role in our Salvation by bringing Jesus into Jerusalem, so He could die for your sins and mine.

What GREATER assignment could be given to any member of the animal kingdom?

Glory to Jesus! If I get my way, that special donkey will get A SOLID GOLD, JEWEL-ENCRUSTED SADDLE in God's Kingdom.

In light of these biblical facts, I profusely apologize to all donkeys...

And I promise to NEVER AGAIN compare Bardem to these dutiful creatures.

He's not really a donkey, JUST A GIGANTIC JACKASS.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2014

MIXED MESSAGE

When Jesus and His Apostles preached the Gospel, there was NO AMBIGUITY WHATSOEVER:

Jesus had TAKEN AWAY the sin OF THE WHOLE WORLD! (John 1:29: Hebrews 9:26)

Therefore, forgiveness of sins and Salvation ARE A GIFT, that cannot be lost or taken away... EVER!

Eternal Life IS Eternal and CANNOT BE LOST... for ANY reason.

Salvation is RECEIVING Jesus into our hearts and COMPLETELY TRUSTING that He removed ALL OUR SINS FOREVER, AS FAR AS THE EAST IS FROM THE WEST (Psalm 103:12).

Then religion came along, and TOTALLY OBSCURED that incomparable Message.

Religion breeds FEAR, NOT FAITH.

ALL forms of religion are BASED ON FEAR.

It started manufacturing "conditions" for Salvation.

It invented doctrines like "purgatory" - A TOTAL ABOMINATION if there ever was one! - since it suggests that Jesus' Sacrifice IS NOT SUFFICIENT TO REMOVE ALL SIN FOR ALL TIME.

Therefore, we must "DO TIME" in "purgatory" TO PAY for "residual" sins OURSELVES.

Can someone please tell me WHERE is the "Good News" in THAT false, BLASPHEMOUS doctrine?

It concocted THE LIE that sins are classified into "mortal" and "venial", when God has told us that "THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH" (Romans 6:23).

The Good News is THAT JESUS REMOVED ALL SIN FOR ALL TIME AND NO LONGER COUNTS SINS AGAINST US (2 Corinthians 5:19; 1 John 3:5).

Therefore, IN Christ Jesus, we have ETERNAL Life.

However, that FALSE and MIXED MESSAGE is not confined only to 4th century Christendom, but to 21st century religion as well.

Other "conditions" have since been added to the simple Message of TOTAL Salvation FOREVER: such as Sabbath keeping, Torah keeping, 10 Commandment keeping, denominational worship, denomination founder worship, dietary laws and circumcision.

Tragically, we have A SIMILARLY BLASPHEMOUS, PERVERTED, MIXED "gospel" being preached from most so-called "evangelical" pulpits:

We have "evangelical" preachers saying on the one hand that Salvation is by faith only, NO WORKS INVOLVED.

Then they turn around and say that if you're homosexual, you're going to hell.

Apparently, Jesus REMOVED ALL SIN FOR ALL TIME, EXCEPT homosexuality.

Apparently, then, the sin of homosexuality HAS MORE POWER TO DAMN, than Jesus has power TO SAVE (perish the very thought).

There's even one MAJOR, SUPERSTAR "evangelical" preacher who FALSELY PROPHESIED that God "would destroy ALL homosexuals".

And don't you dare quote 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 because THERE ARE 10 OTHER sins mentioned in that Scripture, that YOU NEVER PREACH AGAINST, HYPOCRITES!

You SINGLE OUT homosexuals!

As if THAT ONE SIN was MIGHTIER than Jesus.

THE VERY NEXT VERSE (verse 11) clearly says that's what some of us WERE (past tense) BEFORE we came to Christ. "But you WERE WASHED, you were sanctified, you were JUSTIFIED in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

BUT NOW, IN CHRIST, REGARDLESS of how we act ON THE OUTSIDE, we're SAVED FOREVER on the inside.

Homosexuality and bisexuality were rampant in Jesus' time, and He NEVER condemned gays or ANY OTHER sinner.

He pointedly said that WHOEVER came to Him, He would in NO WISE reject (John 6:37).

But false, modern "evangelical" Christianism FALSELY TEACHES THAT God HATES gays and WILL REJECT THEM.

NOT ONLY IS THAT A LIE that CONTRADICTS Jesus, WHERE is the "good news" IN THAT?

"Evangelical" preachers say that Salvation is by faith, THEN TURN AROUND AND THREATEN their CONGREGATION that IF THEY DON'T PAY them 10% OF THEIR INCOME, our Loving, Gracious Father WILL PUT A CURSE ON THEM.

On His own CHILDREN!!!

That He will withdraw His blessings FOR FILTHY MONEY!!!

Their greedy minds don't even pause FOR ONE SECOND to think it through!

Keeping in mind THE LIMITATIONS OF fractured human language, the MOST ACCURATE translation into English IS:

"Since the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven HAS BEEN FORCEFULLY ADVANCING and the forceful SNATCH IT UP FOR THEMSELVES".

Since John the Baptist the Kingdom of Heaven HAS BEEN FORCEFULLY ADVANCING.

Compare to Revelation 6:2 where King Jesus goes forth on the white horse "CONQUERING (ADVANCING His Kingdom) and to CONQUER" (COME OFF VICTORIOUS)".

THE FIRST PORTION of Matthew 11:12 alludes to Micah 2:13:

"The one WHO BREAKS OPEN THE WAY (in context, TO THE SHEEP) WILL GO UP BEFORE THEM; they will BREAK THROUGH THE GATE and go out. Their King will pass through before them, the Lord AT THEIR HEAD."

An old midrashic teaching is THE KEY to understanding the FIRST PORTION of the verse.

Rabbinic interpretation - which in this particular instance IS CORRECT - says that the ONE WHO BREAKS OPEN THE BREACH (to FORCEFULLY ADVANCE God's Kingdom) is Elijah and the King is the Messiah.

Elijah came first in the person of John the Baptist to (FORCEFULLY) BREAK OPEN the breach for the sheep to GO OUT INTO the GREEN PASTURES in God's Kingdom.

And the King who GOES BEFORE US ADVANCING His Kingdom AS THE HEAD of His collective Body is Messiah Jesus.

Now, let's examine the SECOND PART of the verse:

"and the forceful SNATCH UP (the Kingdom) FOR THEMSELVES".

Can you guess what the Greek word for "snatch" or ("take by force") is?

Harpazo.

It's THE SAME WORD used in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 that says we shall be "CAUGHT UP" (raptured) to "meet the Lord in the air".

We HAVE TO RAPTURE Jesus AND HIS KINGDOM INTO US BEFORE HE RAPTURES US INTO HIMSELF!

What a beautiful picture of both initial Salvation (the born again EXPERIENCE) and FULL SALVATION, which takes place when WE SEE JESUS AS HE IS, are transformed INTO IMMORTAL BEINGS and CAUGHT UP (raptured) into Jesus.

We must "rapture" Jesus INTO US, BEFORE He raptures us INTO HIMSELF!!!

Man, if THAT doesn't excite you...

Have you raptured Jesus?

Have you SNATCHED HIM FOR YOURSELF, INTO YOUR HEART?

He IS heaven, you know...

Heaven's more than just a PLACE.

He IS A PERSON.

Those who "go to heaven" are those who HAVE HEAVEN in their hearts.

MONDAY, AUGUST 18, 2014

HOW MANY GOSPELS?

Is there MORE THAN ONE Gospel?

According to religion, the answer is "yes".

According to God, the answer is "no".

A dear brother, victimized by religion, recently tried to correct Jesus and our teaching, based on Matthew 24:14, that the Gospel of the Kingdom must be preached in all the world, then the end would come.

His "evangelical" religion had taught him that there's the Gospel of Grace, which is PRESUMABLY being preached at the moment until the Church is raptured, and there's ANOTHER "gospel" called the "Gospel of the Kingdom" which will be preached during the tribulation.

Supposedly, the purpose of this "OTHER" gospel "of the kingdom" is solely to prepare tribulation survivors for the millennial Kingdom of Christ on earth.

Is this brother's religion correct?

Is their teaching BIBLICAL?

Never mind what I think, I'm going to let the Word of God speak for Himself:

"I am astonished THAT YOU ARE SO QUICKLY deserting the one who called you TO LIVE IN THE GRACE OF Christ AND ARE TURNING TO A DIFFERENT GOSPEL- WHICH IS REALLY NO GOSPEL AT ALL.

EVIDENTLY SOME PEOPLE ARE THROWING YOU INTO CONFUSION AND ARE TRYING TO PERVERT THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST.

But EVEN IF WE OR AN ANGEL FROM HEAVEN SHOULD PREACH A GOSPEL OTHER THAN THE ONE WE PREACHED TO YOU, LET THEM BE ACCURSED!

As we have already said, so now I say again: IF ANYBODY IS PREACHING TO YOU A GOSPEL OTHER THAN THE ONE YOU ACCEPTED, LET THEM BE ACCURSED!" (Galatians 1:6-9)

According to GOD, if the "Gospel of the Kingdom" were DIFFERENT FROM the ORIGINAL Gospel of Grace (perish the thought), IT and anyone who preached it, WOULD BE ACCURSED.

Since NO ONE has ever entered, nor will ever enter, the Kingdom of God EXCEPT BY GRACE, the Gospel of Grace and the Gospel of God's Kingdom ARE ONE AND THE SAME! (John 3:3-5)

Again: NO ONE enters God's Kingdom except by God's Grace.

Hence the Gospel of Grace or Gospel of the Kingdom ARE ONE AND THE SAME.

What did John the Baptist preach? The Kingdom of God (Matthew 3:1-2).

What did JESUS preach? THE Kingdom of God (Matthew 4:17).

According to Revelation 14:6 the Gospel IS ETERNAL.

That means that it (like Jesus) NEVER CHANGES!!!

Jesus Christ is THE SAME yesterday, today, and FOREVER because He is ETERNAL (Hebrews 13:8).

And so is His Gospel or Good News.

If His Gospel ever CHANGED that would make His Message FINITE, instead of ETERNAL, which in turn means that Jesus couldn't guarantee ETERNAL LIFE TO ANYONE, as He did AND DOES again and again (Matthew 25:46; John 3:16, 36; John 17:2; Romans 6:23; 1 John 5:11).

There is ONLY ONE Gospel.

IT IS ETERNAL, hence NEVER CHANGING, and it is both the Gospel of Grace and the Gospel of the Kingdom:

These are simply different names FOR THE SAME GOSPEL.

When we receive Christ into our hearts, we are saved BY GRACE and are instantly ushered into His Kingdom WHICH IS FIRST AND FOREMOST SPIRITUAL (and therefore, at the moment, INVISIBLE).

Moreover, when we receive Christ into our hearts, His Kingdom and THE KING HIMSELF (Jesus) COME INTO US, and from that moment forward are WITHIN US (Luke 17:21).

This is WHAT JESUS HIMSELF TAUGHT... in the Gospel!!!

When we recite the "Our Father" and pray "your Kingdom come" THAT'S WHAT we're praying for!

And because His Kingdom and King Jesus Himself HAVE COME INTO US, and are ETERNALLY in us, He/we will MANIFEST His Kingdom HERE ON EARTH IN TANGIBLE, VISIBLE form during the Millennium.

That's why the ETERNAL Gospel of Grace is ALSO called "the Gospel of the Kingdom".

That ETERNAL Gospel is based ENTIRELY on God's Grace (His undeserved Goodness) and it BRINGS BOTH THE KING AND HIS KINGDOM into us.

The King and His Kingdom are CURRENTLY INVISIBLE to natural, human eyes.

They ARE ABOUT TO become VISIBLE in the VERY NEAR "future".

There's ONLY ONE GOSPEL, and IT IS ETERNAL.

Any other teaching IS ANATHEMA (accursed).

Any other teaching shows GROSS IGNORANCE of God's Word, and of the Gospel itself.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 2014

CHRISTIAN PRIDE

We are living in the age of sectarian pride: we have gay pride, lesbian pride, transsexual pride, "Palestinian" pride, athletic pride, political pride, racial pride, military pride, aviation pride, police pride, civic pride...

The list is endless...

One group is CONSPICUOUSLY ABSENT from the mix:

Christians.

While EVERYONE ELSE IS DELIGHTED to "COME OUT OF THE CLOSET", Christians seem pleased to HIDE INSIDE the CLOSET.

We take refuge in those intimidating fortresses we wrongly call "churches", which seem to say to the unsaved :

THIS IS OUR territory. This is A SEGREGATED CLUB. Don't you dare come in here! Don't you dare TRESPASS!

Stay away from us, you big, bad, ugly sinners!

My God, brothers and sisters, OPEN YOUR EYES!!!

Jesus COMMANDED US to "go INTO all the world".

And WHAT HAVE WE DONE? What HAS RELIGION DONE TO US?

We HID FROM the world.

Jesus COMMANDED US NOT TO COVER UP our light (Him) "under a bushel", but TO RAISE IT/HIM HIGH WHERE HE WOULD ILLUMINATE EVERYONE!

And what have we done? What has RELIGION DONE TO us?

COVERED our light (Jesus), where only our little elitist group can see it, and kept it/Him ALL TO OURSELVES.

No wonder this world of ours is STEEPED IN darkness.

No wonder that evil is rampant, bolder, and seems to be "taking over" the earth.

No wonder society at large has become putrid.

The salt has nearly lost its flavor!

Didn't Jesus WARN US about this?

Didn't He say that if salt lost its flavor, DECAY would set in?

Didn't He say that flavorless (INSIPID) "salt" was only GOOD FOR TRAMPLING?

Why do you think our spiritual siblings are being TRAMPLED in certain parts of the world?

Even in America, where we (still) enjoy unprecedented freedom, we see that trampling taking place, not physically, but CULTURALLY.

When was THE LAST TIME you saw a Christian portrayed FAVORABLY in a movie, TV show, or sitcom?

I rest my case.

I don't mean pride in the sense of haughtiness (God forbid), but I mean in the sense of being PROUD OF JESUS.

Christians should feel ENORMOUS PLEASURE and SATISFACTION of KNOWING and EXPERIENCING Jesus.

We should be SHOUTING IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS!!!

The world IS NOT THE LEAST BIT EMBARRASSED to parade its depravity.

They're not the least bit ashamed of their unbridled lust and excesses.

It's ONLY TIMID, feckless Christians, WHO ARE ASHAMED of their faith and, by association, OF THEIR LORD!!!

HOW can we be ashamed OF GOD?

HOW can we be ashamed of the Wisdom that created and SUSTAINS the universe?

That Jesus will RECEIVE, FORGIVE, CLEANSE AND SAVE ANYONE - ANYONE - who receives Him with ALL of his or her heart.

NO ONE ELSE can offer such WONDERFUL news!

NOTHING and NO ONE ELSE can GUARANTEE sinners LIKE US - A FULL PARDON, TO THE POINT, OUR SINS ARE ERASED AND FORGOTTEN FOREVER.

NO ONE ELSE can guarantee ETERNAL LIFE.

Cause NO ONE ELSE IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE.

We MUST BE the BOLDEST, PROUDEST PEOPLE --- IN THE WHOLE WORLD!!!!!!!

The Lord is MY LIGHT and my Salvation, WHOM shall I fear?

The Lord is THE STRENGTH of my Life, OF WHOM shall I be afraid?

Come on, Christians!

Quit barricading inside those fortresses!

COME OUT OF THE CLOSET!

BE PROUD of Jesus, of His Message, and of YOUR FAITH.

GO INTO the world and SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS!

SATURDAY, AUGUST 16, 2014

WHAT GOD HAS CLEANSED

In Acts chapter 10, we have the account of a vision given to the apostle Peter, and his subsequent ministry to gentiles.

To view this in the proper context, we must remember Peter was a Jew. He'd been brought up in Judaism and had been a devout Jew all his life.

During Jesus' ministry, he had seen his Master do what no other human HAS EVER DONE - before or since: FULFILL THE LAW (TORAH) TO PERFECTION (Matthew 5:17).

Naturally, when a vision came where all kinds of "unclean" animals, that WERE FORBIDDEN TO EAT UNDER JEWISH LAW (TORAH), appeared in a sheet accompanied by a voice from heaven saying that Peter should "eat" them, he was horrified.

His words of protest are recorded for all time in Acts 10:14:

"Not so, Lord; for I HAVE NEVER EATEN ANYTHING that is common or unclean".

Long story short, Peter got up and accompanied some men from Joppa to Caesarea, preached the Gospel to the "unclean", idol worshiping GENTILES in that city, who DID NOT FOLLOW, OR EVEN KNOW THE LAW (torah), and THEY GOT SAVED AND FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT JUST LIKE their believing Jewish brethren had experienced a short time earlier.

Did Peter, a devout Jew, COMMAND those Gentiles to follow the Torah from that moment forward?

NO.

Did he COMMAND THEM - or even SUGGEST - that they observe the weekly Sabbath?

NO.

Did he COMMAND THEM to get circumcised?

NO.

Did he COMMAND THEM to observe the Torah's dietary laws?

NO.

Why not? Because God had pointedly shown His apostle that THEY WERE ALREADY CLEANSED OF ALL SIN AND IMPURITY BY Jesus HIMSELF (John 1:29; 1 John 3:5).

Otherwise, God's "Seal of Approval" and "GUARANTEE OF REDEMPTION", His very own Holy Spirit, WOULD NOT HAVE filled those Gentile believers WHO DID NOT FOLLOW THE LAW OR OBSERVE THE WEEKLY SABBATH (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:14).

And if they were ALREADY CLEANSED by Jesus' OWN BLOOD ON THE INSIDE, NO AMOUNT OF TORAH OBSERVING ON THE OUTSIDE could make them ANY CLEANER.

Oh, that religionists would READ AND HEED those blessed words!

WHAT GOD HIMSELF HAS CLEANSED, NO ONE - in heaven or earth - can call unclean.

If you see yourself as "unclean", "sinful", "outcast" or flat-out REJECTED BY religion, COME TO JESUS NOW.

YOU DON'T NEED RELIGION. ALL you need is Jesus.

Let Jesus CLEAN YOU UP WITH HIS OWN BLOOD AND DECLARE YOU RIGHTEOUS (1 John 1:7).

Let SINFUL, CARNAL men ACCUSE YOU all they want. If you have Jesus on your side, YOU ARE A WINNER... and SAVED FOR ALL ETERNITY. Amen (Romans 8:31).

And your religious accusers, who imitate Satan, whom the Bible calls "THE ACCUSER OF the brethren" ARE LOSERS (Revelation 12:10).

When God cleanses someone, when He declares him, her, or them RIGHTEOUS, you can't get any HOLIER THAN THAT.

You can't get ANY MORE RIGHTEOUS THAN THAT.

And no religious leader, no supposed "minister of the Gospel", NOT EVEN JESUS' OWN APOSTLE -- PERSONALLY SELECTED by Jesus AND APPOINTED LEADER OF THE EARLY CHURCH -- could declare them "UNCLEAN".

If Peter COULDN'T call those people "unclean" because they DIDN'T observe the weekly Sabbath...

If Peter COULDN'T call them "unclean" FOR NOT FOLLOWING THE TORAH...

If Peter himself regarded as SAVED BROTHERS all those who simply PUT THEIR FAITH in Jesus Christ and were thus DECLARED CLEANSED AND RIGHTEOUS by Jesus Himself...

If 2,000 years ago EVEN PETER COULDN'T call them "unclean"...

Neither can your denomination call them "unclean" and, for that matter, NEITHER CAN WE.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 15, 2014

WAR OR PEACE?

"For you yourselves know perfectly that the Day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.

For WHEN THEY SHALL SAY, PEACE AND SAFETY; then sudden destruction comes UPON THEM, as travail upon a woman with child; and THEY SHALL NOT ESCAPE".

Don't these verses prove there's going to be a peace treaty?

NO.

Please find the word "treaty", or some synonym thereof, in that passage.

It simply ISN'T there.

You can search endlessly from Genesis to Revelation, until your mind goes numb:

There's NO SUCH THING AS a "7-year peace treaty"... IN THE ENTIRE BIBLE!!!

What that passage clearly says is that JUST PRIOR to the Day of the Lord (tribulation) there will be A LOT OF TALK about "peace and safety".

They will SAY "peace and safety".

Nowhere does it say that THERE WILL BE "peace and safety".

Actually, we've been HEARING ABOUT "peace and safety" for quite some time.

Why?

Because there is NO PEACE or SAFETY.

And, between now and the Rapture, it will get even worse.

Just a few examples:

There are "talks" going on with Iran (recently extended because they got nowhere) about negotiating some sort of peace and normalization of relations in exchange for their dropping their nuclear weapons program.

There are "talks" going on in Egypt between Israel and Hamas over some sort of "peace".

There have been "talks", and more will probably take place, trying to solve the crisis between Russia and Ukraine.

There are "talks" about finding some sort of solution to the crisis in Iraq and trying to bring all of that nation's factions together under some form of "representative" government.

There have been "talks" to try to end the bloody civil war going on in Syria as we speak.

Talk, talk, talk...

They will SAY (TALK ABOUT) "peace and safety".

There won't be ANY peace or safety.

When Jesus was asked about THE END OF THE AGE (i.e., about Bible prophecy), THE FIRST thing He said is that "MANY would come in His Name, as professing Christians, saying that He is the Christ, and WOULD DECEIVE MANY!!!

He warned that this great deception about the end times would come - not from the world, not from satanists, not from atheists or agnostics, but from SUPPOSED CHRISTIANS!!!

These "Christians" (in context) would DECEIVE people about Bible prophecy and about what to expect at Christ's appearing at the end of this age.

Self-declared "prophecy teachers" can't seem to make up their minds:

On the one hand they say that "NO SIGNS precede" the Rapture. On the other hand they say that a "7-year peace treaty" is REQUIRED to start the tribulation.

Since the Rapture happens AT THE START OF the tribulation, wouldn't such treaty indicate that the Rapture's about to happen and the tribulation about to start?

Wouldn't such treaty BE "A SIGN"?

But never mind what useless hirelings say, the most important question is:

What did JESUS have to say about all this?

Did He teach that there would be PEACE, let alone a TREATY of peace for 7 years, to jump start the tribulation?

NO.

When His disciples SPECIFICALLY ASKED HIM for "the signs" concerning His coming and the END OF THIS AGE Jesus DIDN'T MENTION ANY PEACE.

He said there'd be WAR, not peace!

He said there'd also be RUMORS of WAR.

He said there'd be nation AGAINST nation and kingdom AGAINST kingdom (Matthew 24:4-8).

Does ANY OF THAT sound like a "peace" or "safety" or a "peace treaty" to you?

The FALSE TEACHING about a "7-year year peace treaty" DIRECTLY CONTRADICTS JESUS!!!

Consequently, we're left with two possibilities:

1. Jesus lied. Or,

2. The self-appointed "prophecy experts" ARE LYING.

Either Jesus was TOTALLY CLUELESS about the Day of the Lord, or these guys are.

I don't know about you, but I'll never BE AGAINST (anti) Jesus.

Those who do are anti-Christs (small "a").

And I don't trust ANYONE BUT Jesus.

Especially when Jesus WARNED ABOUT THESE DECEIVERS, TOLD US THE TRUTH FOR FREE, and these hirelings who lie about being "experts" on prophecy, SELL their false, unbiblical crap FOR MONEY.

These greedy impostors have 80% of the Church expecting a "7-year peace treaty"... THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN!

Make up your minds, Christians!

You can't serve two masters.

You can't believe two masters.

Either BELIEVE JESUS, or believe the BOOK SELLERS.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

ASSYRIA

The territory taken by ISIS so far, roughly corresponds to that of ancient Assyria.

Assyria would eventually grow into an Empire that conquered Babylon, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, and a portion of Saudi Arabia to its south, Armenia and portions of Turkey to its north.

Like ISIS, they were quite brutal and intolerant.

The Assyrians conquered the Kingdom of Israel and took the 10 northern tribes into captivity in 721 B.C.

Their removal and dispersion was so thorough that, to this day, no mortal knows their whereabouts.

God, of course, knows everything, knows who and where they are, has kept track of each Israelite, and has promised to bring ALL 12 TRIBES BACK into the Land of Promise during His Millennial Kingdom on earth.

In 2 Kings chapters 18 and 19 we have the story of how the Assyrians under Sennacherib tried to invade and conquer the Southern Kingdom of Judah, during Hezekiah's reign.

We read how, like ISIS, they issued all kinds of threats, and used psychological means to intimidate the Jews, and of God's wonderful deliverance of His people.

Assyria was eventually defeated in 608 B.C. by the Babylonians and CEASED TO EXIST as an independent nation, becoming a province of the Babylonian Empire.

Then they experienced a spiritual turnaround:

Assyrians began to convert to the Christian faith as early as the first century A.D.

Those Christians in Iraq presently being threatened, exiled and slaughtered by Isis, are descendants of the ancient Assyrians.

They still speak Aramaic, the same language Jesus and His apostles spoke.

And despite their current, temporary distress, God will be merciful to them, and has promised to restore Assyria's national identity and bless Assyria during His coming Kingdom on earth.

Isaiah chapter 19 mentions that Egypt will be oppressed by Antichrist, then mightily delivered and restored by Jesus.

And 19:23-25 contains this beautiful promise:

"In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians WILL WORSHIP TOGETHER.

In that day Israel WILL BE THE THIRD, ALONG WITH Egypt and Assyria, A BLESSING on the earth.

King David expressly ordered that Solomon be anointed King of Israel at the Gihon (1 Kings 1:33).

God had told David that it would be Solomon who would build His Temple (1 Chronicles 22:7-10; 28:6). By having Solomon anointed at Gihon, which was the designated location for the Temple, David was not only choosing his successor, but declaring to all Israel that it would be Solomon -- not Adonijah -- who would build the Temple of God (1 Chronicles 28:11, 28: 2-19; 2 Chronicles 3:1).

The temple was supposed to be a reproduction of the Garden of Eden. Gihon was one of the rivers that ran thru Eden, where man experienced the Presence of God (Genesis 2:13). The spring that ran within the temple was, evidently, what remained of the original Gihon after man's fall.

B. It was NECESSARY, according to the Torah, to have living (running) water (available for the priests' ritual washings (mikveh), as prescribed by the law (Leviticus 16:23-28; Talmud, Yoma 3:2-3,14).

Living (running) water (mayyim hayyim) was also necessary to rinse the blood of the numerous sacrifices offered inside the temple, and to cleanse the utensils (Leviticus 14:5-6, 50; Numbers 19:17).

Since the Temple Mount LACKS living water, it CANNOT BE the true location of the former temples.

The former temples, then, had to be located in the southern portion of Mount Moriah, with the Gihon Spring running through its interior. This would place the ancient temples (Solomon's and Zerubabbel's) south of the Temple Mount, at Ophel, with the Gihon spring running inside them.

C. There is Scripture after Scripture also indicating that A NATURAL SPRING OF LIVING WATER flowed within the temple:

1. 2nd Chronicles 33:14-16:

"Afterward he rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David, west of the Gihon spring in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate and encircling the hill of Ophel; he also made it much higher. He stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities in Judah.

He got rid of the foreign gods AND REMOVED THE IMAGE FROM THE TEMPLE of the Lord, as well as all the altars he had built ON THE TEMPLE HILL and in Jerusalem; and he threw them out of the city".

2. Nehemiah 3:26:

"and THE TEMPLE SERVANTS living on the hill of Ophel made repairs up to a point opposite the Water Gate toward the east and the projecting tower".

The Water Gate is so called because it sits above the Gihon Spring. Why would TEMPLE SERVANTS repair this gate that protected the Gihon spring, UNLESS the spring was connected to THE TEMPLE?

Why would THE TEMPLE SERVANTS live in Ophel UNLESS the temple itself was located in Ophel?

3. Nehemiah 8:16-17:

"So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, and in their courts and IN THE COURTS OF THE HOUSE OF God (THE TEMPLE), and in the square AT THE WATER GATE (Gihon Spring)... The entire assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in them"

4. Jeremiah 2:13:

(Writing from Jerusalem) "My people have committed two sins: They HAVE FORSAKEN ME, THE SPRING OF LIVING WATER, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water".

5. Jeremiah 17:13:

(Writing from Jerusalem) "LORD, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the LORD, THE SPRING OF LIVING WATER".

6. Zechariah 6:12:

"And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and HE SHALL SPRING UP from HIS PLACE, and HE SHALL BUILD THE TEMPLE of the LORD".

7. Zechariah 13:1:

"On that day A SPRING WILL BE OPENED TO THE HOUSE (Temple) of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity".

8. Psalms 46:4:

"There is A RIVER WHOSE STREAMS make glad the city of God, THE HOLY PLACE (Temple) where the Most High dwells".

9. Ezekiel 47:1:

"The man brought me back to the entrance to the temple, and I SAW WATER COMING OUT FROM UNDER THE THRESHOLD OF THE TEMPLE TOWARD THE EAST (FOR THE TEMPLE FACED EAST). The WATER WAS COMING DOWN FROM UNDER THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE TEMPLE, SOUTH OF THE ALTAR.

10. Ezekiel 47:12:

"Fruit trees of all kinds will grow along BOTH SIDES OF THE RIVER. The leaves of these trees will never turn brown and fall, and there will always be fruit on their branches. There will be a new crop every month, FOR THEY ARE WATERED BY THE RIVER FLOWING FROM THE TEMPLE. The fruit will be for food and the leaves for healing."

11. Joel 3:18

"On that day new wine will cover the mountains. Milk will flow on the hills. Water will flow in all the brooks of Judah. A SPRING WILL FLOW FROM the LORD's temple. It will water the valley of Acacias (Shittim)".

12. John 7:38-39

Jesus made good use OF THAT NATURAL SPRING WITHIN THE TEMPLE when He, TEACHING IN THE TEMPLE (John 7:14, 28), compared the Holy Spirit in us to the Gihon Spring:

"He that believes in me.... OUT OF HIS INNERMOST BEING SHALL FLOW RIVERS OF LIVING WATER. . . This he spoke of the Spirit... For the Holy Spirit was not yet given"...

Jesus' inescapable point was this:

Just like that stone edifice was God's temple, so are individual believers God's Temple (1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 2 Corinthians 6:16).

Just like the Gihon's LIVING WATER flowed within the Temple structure, the Holy Spirit's LIVING WATER will flow out of our innermost beings, within our HUMAN temples.

There can be NO BIGGER EVIDENCE -- or MORE CONCLUSIVE PROOF -- that this is the temples' true location, than the testimony of the Savior Himself.

Additionally:

13. Revelation 11:1-2

Jesus tells John to measure the (third) temple, but SPECIFICALLY INSTRUCTS HIM NOT TO measure "the court OUTSIDE" the temple, for it has been "GIVEN TO gentiles".

That "court" is the so-called Temple Mount which, in amazing fulfillment of this prophecy, WAS GIVEN to Arab gentiles after the Six Day War.

14. Daniel 9:26-27

Predicts the destruction of the second temple carried out by Roman prince Titus IN 70 A.D., and that, thereafter, the temple's location will "remain desolate UNTIL THE END".

The Temple Mount has NOT remained desolate, as it has two large buildings, the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque, and millions of visitors who go there each year.

Therefore, either God lied, or that's NOT the temple's true location.

In light of such CONCLUSIVE and overwhelming evidence...

Why do Jews insist on calling the area where the Antonia Fortress once stood the "Temple Mount"?

They REALLY DON'T KNOW the true location, as proven by the various conflicting theories among Jewish archaeologists.

However, there's also A PSYCHOLOGICAL COMPONENT involved:

Perhaps they (subconsciously) DON'T WANT TO know.

The most mournful day on the Jewish calendar is Tisha B'Av which commemorates the destruction of the first and second temples.

For Jews it was EXTREMELY TRAUMATIC AND HUMILIATING to experience overwhelming defeat at the hand of the Romans in 70 A.D.

They were slaughtered, their temple sacked and destroyed, their city and temple completely razed to the ground and burned to ashes, the temple's menorah carried triumphantly to Rome as war trophy, and even coins were minted celebrating their defeat and enslavement by the ruthless Romans.

If you were Jewish today, would you show visitors a depressing, mostly empty (desolate) lot with no significant structure to speak of, and say "this is where our temples once stood"?

That would be totally unimpressive and a bit embarrassing, to say the least: a grim reminder of their sad and troubled history.

It also wouldn't do much for tourism.

It is far more inspiring to show off the Temple Mount with the elaborate Dome of the Rock and its gleaming, golden Dome, which is the architectural landmark most often associated with Jerusalem.

The Dome may not be THEIR temple, but at least it's an impressive building to show tourists and foreign dignitaries, and which, to some degree, evokes Jerusalem's former splendor.

Not to mention that, by calling it the "Temple Mount", they can offer Jews and Israelis a "Western Wall", a focal point, to rouse religious fervor and nationalistic pride.

But there's NOTHING - NOTHING - in the Bible or secular history -- to support the "Temple Mount" as the true site of the former temples:

All the BIBLICAL and historical evidence DISPROVES this location and POINTS CLEARLY TO OPHEL, south of the Temple Mount, as the true location of the former temples, with the Gihon Spring running inside.

To summarize:

We have testimony of EYEWITNESS Josephus that the temple sat on a square platform (one square furlong), and that it was located on the lower city in an area shaped like a crescent moon. The Temple Mount is not square, and it's not on the crescent shaped area. Ophel and the Gihon Spring are.

We have the testimony of Josephus that Fort Antonia was built around a 75-foot rock, and had a moat directly to its north. The Temple Mount has these PRECISE features. The Temple Mount, consequently, is NOT the location of the former temples but of Fort Antonia.

We have one Scripture that says THE COURT OUTSIDE THE TEMPLE (or the Temple Mount) would be "given to gentiles" (Revelation 11:1-2). Inexplicably, that's EXACTLY what happened in the aftermath of the Six-Day War in 1967.

We have one Scripture saying that the temple's TRUE LOCATION would remain DESOLATE UNTIL "the end" (Daniel 9:27). The Temple Mount has NOT remained desolate, as it has two large, ornate buildings the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa, and millions of visitors who go there each year.

We have the testimony of Tacitus and of EYEWITNESS Aristeas, TWO impartial (THIRD CENTURY B.C. and FIRST CENTURY A.D. witnesses, respectively) that there was a NATURAL SPRING of water flowing within the temple (Deuteronomy 19:15).

We also have 14 DIFFERENT SCRIPTURES INDICATING THE SAME THING. No NATURAL SPRING exists on the Temple Mount.

We have the testimony of Jesus Himself that clearly indicates A NATURAL SPRING OF WATER RUNNING WITHIN THE TEMPLE.

There's NO WAY the "Temple Mount" can be the true location of the former temples.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2013

TEMPLE EVIDENCE

Historical evidence:

1. According to Josephus, first century historian and EYEWITNESS TO the Second Temple's destruction, the temple sat atop A SQUARE AREA measuring approximately 600 feet X 600 feet (Antiquities of the Jews, Book 15, Chapter 11, Paragraph 3).

The Mishnah also corroborates that the temple area was A PERFECT SQUARE (Mishnah, Tractate Middot, Perek 2:1).

And the Bible leaves NO DOUBT (Ezekiel 42:15-20).

The present "Temple Mount" sits on a trapezoid platform that measures approximately 1,033 feet on the north, 920 feet on the south, 1,542 feet on the east, and 1,600' feet on the west. It is ANYTHING BUT square.

This contradicts Josephus, the Mishnah and THE BIBLE. This fact ALONE, should raise all kinds of questions as to whether that was TRULY the place where the temples once stood.

2. There is NO MENTION WHATSOEVER in either the Old or New Testaments, or any other credible ancient writings, of the temple being built ON TOP OF A LARGE ROCK.

It's hard to believe, with all the detailed biblical description given about the temple, that such a unique and important detail would have been omitted by the Holy Spirit, as well as the various writers.

Josephus, on the other hand, specifically mentions that Fort Antonia was built around A VERY LARGE ROCK measuring 50 cubits or 75 feet (War of the Jews, Book 5, Chapter 5, Paragraph 8).

The present "Temple Mount" is also built around A LARGE ROCK that sits underneath the Dome OF THE ROCK, hence its name.

3. Fort Antonia had a moat immediately to its north (War, Book 5, Ch. 4, Par. 2). The so-called "Temple Mount" has a moat, immediately to its north.

There's no mention anywhere, either in biblical or secular texts, of the temple having a moat to its north.

Moreover, moats are usually built in front of castles or fortresses to prevent sudden military assault, not in front of temples.

The Temple Mount, therefore, is NOT the site of the former temples, but of the Antonia Fortress, built by Herod, and named after his friend Mark Antony.

4. Josephus describes Jerusalem as built on two main hills: The western hill, called "the Upper City" due to its higher elevation, and the Lower City on the lower EASTERN HILL which he describes as "SHAPED LIKE A CRESCENT MOON" (War, Book 5, Ch. 4, Paragraph 1).

Logic dictates that the Antonia would have been ON THE HIGHER HILL (Temple Mount) which would give it THE HEIGHT ADVANTAGE over any would be invader; while the city itself, including the temple, would have been on the lower, CRESCENT-SHAPED AREA.

You can see the "crescent moon shape" in the picture below, on the eastern side of Mount Moriah, JUST SOUTH OF the "Temple Mount".

5. Roman senator and historian Tacitus says that the temple contained A NATURAL "inexhaustible spring" than ran within the temple structure (Histories, Book 5, Par.12).

Aristeas, AN EYEWITNESS of the second temple, also reports A NATURAL SPRING, NOT AN AQUEDUCT, flowing within the temple:

"There is AN INEXHAUSTIBLE SUPPLY OF WATER, BECAUSE AN ABUNDANT NATURAL SPRING GUSHES UP FROM WITHIN THE TEMPLE AREA" (Letter of Aristeas, Paragraph 89.

THE ONLY natural spring within a 5-mile radius of Jerusalem is the Gihon.

It flows approximately 800 feet SOUTH OF the so-called Temple Mount.

There are NO NATURAL SPRINGS ANYWHERE on the "Temple Mount", only cisterns with standing water.

This evidence from impartial, reliable historic sources PROVES that the so-called Temple Mount COULDN'T POSSIBLY BE the correct location of the former temples.

MONDAY, AUGUST 11, 2014

BORN OF WATER

"Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, EXCEPT A MAN BE BORN OF WATER and of the Spirit, HE CANNOT ENTER into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5).

Religious minds trip all over this verse, as they theorize about its meaning.

Entire denominations CLAIM it says that WATER BAPTISM is ESSENTIAL to one's salvation.

There's only one tiny problem with their theory:

The word "baptism", which appears no fewer than 81 TIMES throughout the New Testament, IS NOWHERE FOUND IN THAT VERSE.

Repeat: The word "baptism" DOES NOT APPEAR in that verse.

If being baptized in water is ESSENTIAL to salvation, WHY didn't Jesus make something SO IMPORTANT crystal clear?

Why didn't He use the word baptizo, thereby eliminating ALL DOUBT?

Why didn't Jesus SPECIFY He was referring to BAPTISM in water?

Christ WASN'T TALKING ABOUT being baptized in water. He was talking about BEING BORN OF WATER.

There's NOTHING in the Bible, or even in the natural, that indicates that being immersed (baptized) in water causes ANYONE to be BORN.

It takes a lot of religious "help" to JUMP from being "BORN of water" to water baptism, as if the only "water" on earth was BAPTISMAL.

Lest anyone misunderstand: EVERY believer in Christ, SHOULD BE baptized in water, as both an act of obedience to Christ, and as OUTWARD TESTIMONY of what has already taken place INWARDLY (namely, that our sins have been TOTALLY CLEANSED and WASHED AWAY by the Blood of Jesus, Revelation 7:14).

However, the doctrine of baptismal REGENERATION is FALSE and UNBIBLICAL.

H2O has NO MORE POWER to regenerate our spirit than soap or shampoo.

WATER BAPTISM DOESN'T CAUSE ANYONE TO BE "BORN" ANY MORE THAN the glass of water you had this morning.

Just like the water in which you bathe (hopefully, every day) or the water in which you wash clothes don't cause anyone to be "born".

There's ONLY ONE WATER that MAKES PEOPLE BORN, which I'll get to in a minute.

What is RULE NUMBER ONE to understand a particular passage of the Bible?

PAY ATTENTION TO THE CONTEXT.

We CANNOT ignore the context. If we do, we will come up with carnal error after carnal error.

WHAT was being discussed? TO WHOM was Jesus (Paul, or whoever) speaking? What was going on around them? What was the cultural and/or historic setting? What was said just prior and just after?

When we ISOLATE ONE VERSE from the surrounding text, we can "make" the Bible "say" nearly anything we want.

Real Christians DO NOT MANIPULATE God's Word to suit their personal whims, or religious preferences.

We want Truth (Jesus) AT ALL COSTS.

We want to know WHAT HE INTENDED TO SAY, whether we "like it" or NOT:

"NOT as I will, Father, but AS YOU WILL" (Matthew 26:39)

CONTEXT, CONTEXT, CONTEXT!

Here's the sequence:

John 3:3 Jesus tells Nicodemus, a "Torah observant" Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, that UNLESS one is born AGAIN (born A SECOND TIME) one CANNOT SEE God's Kingdom.

Nicodemus THINKS Jesus is talking about being PHYSICALLY RE-BORN:

John 3:4 Nicodemus asks "HOW can a man be born a second time? Can he GO BACK INTO HIS MOTHER'S WOMB"?

THEN Jesus answers:

John 3:5 "Except a man is BORN OF WATER (of natural childbirth first, where the "water" in the female womb breaks) and of the Spirit (spiritual re-birth), he cannot enter the kingdom of God".

THAT'S THE ONLY WATER that makes people BORN into this world.

Jesus was saying that in order to enter God's Kingdom one had to be BORN of NATURAL, PHYSICAL HUMAN BIRTH FIRST, and then experience SPIRITUAL re-birth.

The verse that follows LEAVES NO DOUBT WHATSOEVER as to which "water" Jesus was referring:

John 3:6

"that which is BORN OF THE FLESH is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit".

Jesus was saying "Look Nicodemus, the first birth is PHYSICAL and NATURAL, the SECOND birth is SPIRITUAL and SUPERNATURAL.

Jesus clearly indicated that one must first be born of the flesh, "OF THE WATER" involved in natural, FLESH AND BLOOD, human birth, and THEN be "born" A SECOND TIME, SUPERNATURALLY, of the Spirit.

Both these births are ABSOLUTE MUST in order to enter the Kingdom of God.

When taken in context, there's NO WAY to get "baptism in water" out of that exchange.

Furthermore, THE THIEF that hung next to Jesus on the cross, and believed in Him during the FINAL MOMENTS of his life, WAS NEVER IMMERSED IN WATER.

He died WITHOUT BEING BAPTIZED. And Jesus ASSURED HIM that he'd be saved (Luke 23:43).

Faith (COMPLETE TRUST in Jesus and WHAT HE DID to save us), IS THE ONLY THING THAT SAVES.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 10, 2014

FAILURE TO LEAD

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Edmund Burke, 18th Century Irish Political Philosopher

Well, the White House FINALLY decided it was time to "do something" in Iraq.

Thank God!

While SOME action is better than NO ACTION at all, one must wonder WHAT went into the decision making process for President Obama.

Perhaps the thousands of protesters outside the White House DEMANDING that he do something about the systematic slaughter of Christians in Iraq?

(God bless every one of those protesters!)

Perhaps the JUSTIFIED criticism the President has gotten from both sides, Republican and Democrat?

Or maybe the fact that America's prestige and influence in the world have badly eroded during his watch, while a defiant Vladimir Putin thumbs his nose at us and our feeble "economic sanctions", and an emboldened ISIS DOES AS IT PLEASES, WITHOUT any meaningful opposition to speak of?

Is that what Hillary and you meant by your ridiculous "reset" button, Mr. President?

Your "reset" is A JOKE!

Heck, you couldn't even GET THE RIGHT WORD in Russian!

America and, by association, the Western world, with the notable exception of Israel, is undergoing a leadership crisis on a scale I've never seen before in my entire life.

America's failure to lead is, in large part, responsible for the various crises going on around the world.

It's almost as if the President is content to have won re-election and intends to just "ride" the rest of his second term.

I mean, WHY NOW?

WHY NOT two or three months ago, when these barbarians began committing atrocities, filming them, then bragging about it?

WHY now, Mr. President?

WHY didn't you nip it in the bud?

WHY did you allow them to terrorize the Middle East, including some of our allies, and GAIN MOMENTUM?

It's A LOT HARDER to stop them now.

Wouldn't it have been MUCH EASIER then?

WAS IT REALLY NECESSARY to allow ISIS to behead, crucify and commit thousands of other atrocities, while the US and the EU watch and DO NOTHING?

WAS IT REALLY NECESSARY to allow this extremist group to take almost half of Iraq, parts of Syria and Lebanon, threaten Jordan, get their hands on all sorts of modern, sophisticated weapons, RAID THE BANKS IN MOSUL AND GET TONS OF CASH, and material for potential WMD's?

WAS IT REALLY NECESSARY to wait until 25 children died of dehydration in that remote, hot as hell, godforsaken mountain?

To use the President's own analogy that ISIS may not be, in terms of terrorist performance, the basketball equivalent of Kobe Bryant...

You're right, Mr. President, they're more like LeBron James!!!

(And I apologize for using these two athletes in comparison to terrorists).

HOW could the U.S. have been "taken by surprise" by all this?

HOW could the President and ALL HIS feckless ADVISERS - who should be hanging their heads in shame at their TOTAL INCOMPETENCE and FAILURE TO LEAD - just kick back and WATCH ALL THIS CARNAGE UNFOLD, when we have the means to STOP IT and COULD HAVE stopped it, in its embryonic stage?

Good luck in trying to stop it now, when terrorists have become SO CONFIDENT that they are THREATENING to fly their flag on top of the White House.

And I don't buy this business that ISIS is sweeping through northern Iraq because Malaki's government wasn't "inclusive enough".

That may be true. But that doesn't justify supporting BARBARIANS that are too brutal even for Al Qaeda!

The ONLY LANGUAGE terrorists understand, the ONLY WAY to deal with terrorists, is by OVERWHELMING, DECISIVE FORCE.

And China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are watching in total delight at our sheer inability TO TAKE DECISIVE and TIMELY ACTION.

THEY, no doubt, are plotting their own TAKEOVER of the Ukraine, and Lord knows what else, and COUNTING ON America and the EU watching, sitting on their hands, and DOING NOTHING.

James 4:17 comes to mind:

"WHOEVER knows THE RIGHT THING TO DO and FAILS TO DO IT,for him IT IS SIN".

SATURDAY,AUGUST 9, 2014

HYPOCRITICAL SPANIARDS

"I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you...I will bless those who bless you, and WHOEVER CURSES YOU I WILL CURSE" (Genesis 12:2-3)

Some of Spain's film personalities, including Pedro Almodóvar, Penélope Cruz, and her husband Javier Bardem, have written an open letter in a Spanish newspaper condemning Israel's bombing of Gaza.

The strident, hypocritical letter calls for the Spanish government and the EU to condemn:

"the bombing by land, sea and air against the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip"...

It went on to say that "Gaza is LIVING THROUGH HORROR THESE DAYS, besieged and attacked by land, sea and air" (you already said that, morons).

That "Palestinians' homes are being destroyed, they are being denied water, electricity and free movement to their hospitals, schools and fields while the international community does nothing."

They also decried the "physical, moral, and psychological" impact that Israel's defensive military incursions are having on the people of Gaza.

Their misguided manifesto also called for an end to "the Israeli blockade" that restricts what can be taken into Gaza, and for Israel's withdrawal to pre-1967 borders.

Donkey-faced Bardem, who is married to Cruz, has ratcheted up the Anti-Jewish rhetoric yet another notch by telling Spanish newspaper El Diario, that the conflict with Hamas is based on "occupation AND EXTERMINATION AGAINST A PEOPLE WITHOUT MEANS, confined to a minimum of land, without water and where hospitals, ambulances and children are targets AND ALLEGED TERRORISTS"...

"ALLEGED terrorists"? "People without means"?

Is that what you call a bunch of RABID TERRORISTS, who shield themselves behind civilians, including women and children, WHILE THEY FIRE ROCKETS ‘ROUND THE CLOCK at Israeli civilians, including those in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem?

If the film industry gave awards for SHEER STUPIDITY, these morons would be shoo-ins.

But somehow this one-sided tirade AGAINST ISRAEL isn't surprising coming from three imbeciles, and some of their lesser known peers, whose country has a long history of anti-Jewish atrocities.

Anyone with a remote knowledge of European history knows that Spain was the cradle of the infamous Inquisition, where Jews were horribly persecuted, threatened, tortured, killed, and FORCED to "convert" to a FALSE, DISTORTED AND DEPRAVED FORM OF "Christianism".

Anyone remotely familiar with Spanish history knows that Jews were marginalized and called by the derogatory term marranos, which means "pigs".

Where have I heard THAT before?

Oh, that's right!

From those "poor", "oppressed", "helpless" Islamic TERRORISTS in Gaza whose charter calls for the EXTERMINATION OF JEWS, and claims they are descendants of "apes" and "pigs".

It's also HISTORIC FACT that Spain FORCIBLY EXPELLED ALL JEWS in 1492.

How come these self-righteous, self-professed "ultra-humanitarian" morons HAVEN'T WRITTEN an "Open Letter" asking the U.N. to CONDEMN THE REAL Gaza occupiers, Hamas, and its grotesque agenda of Jewish annihilation?

How come they DON'T CONDEMN Hamas for digging tunnels so they can sneak into Israel at will and indiscriminately HARM ANY JEW they come across?

How come they DON'T CONDEMN Hamas for hiding rocket launchers underneath schools, hospitals, and even homes, SO THEY CAN USE THE DEATHS OF THEIR OWN PEOPLE as propaganda ploy against Israel?

How come they DON'T CONDEMN those "poor, helpless, innocent" Palestinians for launching rockets at Israel ON A DAILY BASIS, or for kidnapping then murdering Israeli teenagers?

And, by the way, since they are such great "humanitarians", HOW COME they HAVEN'T SAID A WORD OR WRITTEN ANY LETTERS denouncing the OVER 40,000 civilians killed in Syria in the last couple years?

When the number of Palestinians killed is less than 2,000 and many of those killed were KNOWN TERRORISTS?

How come THEY HAVEN'T CONDEMNED ISIS and their barbaric genocide against Christians and FELLOW MUSLIMS in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon?

It's so easy for THESE COWARDLY HYPOCRITES to GANG UP against tiny, overwhelmingly outnumbered Israel, surrounded ON ALL SIDES by enemies who want to annihilate them!

Forget about their earning A VERY COMFORTABLE LIVING through films, funded and directed MOSTLY by Jews.

I wonder how long promiscuous Penelope would live in a terrorist regime, that stones women like her to death, and treats them as personal, DISPOSABLE property.

Or how long her donkey husband, a self-proclaimed atheist, would survive under an oppressive system, with no freedom of expression, that believes in MURDERING everyone who does not submit to "allah".

As a born-again believer in the VERY JEWISH Messiah, when someone attacks Israel, especially when such attack is BIASED, UNWARRANTED AND UNJUST, I take it PERSONALLY.

That is why I vow not to spend a nickel on any movie made by these hypocrites, or in which they participate in any way.

Nor will I buy or rent videos in which they appear.

Nor purchase anything they promote.

Nor will I watch their movies EVEN IF THEY'RE SHOWN ON TV, free of charge.

And I urge all those who love Jesus, love Israel, or love both, and who hate TERRORISM, to do the same.

As far as I'm concerned this trio of hypocritical ignoramuses can take their Nespresso and flush it up their behinds.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 8, 2014

GAZA: VIEW FROM ABOVE

Most of the sights and sounds from Gaza in recent days have been heart-wrenching, to say the least.

No human being with a shred of compassion or decency likes to watch other humans, especially women and children, being used BY TERRORISTS as human shields.

NO ONE with a remotely compassionate heart likes to watch dead, wounded, or crying, scared children.

This, coincidentally, is one of the reasons - although not the only one - that we should all pray for Israel's swift and decisive victory.

We should pray for them to accomplish their objectives: close off all terrorists tunnels, dismantle Hamas' rocket launching pads, and confiscate or destroy all terrorist weapons.

So that violence ON BOTH SIDES may END.

However, as I prayed and thought about those poor children caught in the middle of this armed conflict, I found myself wondering what kind of "future" they would have, EVEN IF ISRAEL were not forced to neutralize, or altogether root out Hamas from Gaza.

And their "future", I must say, even WITHOUT Israel's military intervention, looks rather bleak.

I'm not just referring to the poverty, oppression and overall misery inherent to Islamic regimes.

Here's something that you will seldom, if ever, hear from any news organization even "conservative" ones:

What kind of a life awaits those children living in A TERRORIST stronghold?

One of hatred, fear and destruction.

As early AS FIVE YEARS OF AGE those Arab kids are INDOCTRINATED and their innocent, impressionable young minds filled with propaganda and PURE HATRED for Jews.

This TOTAL HATRED for Jews is even reflected in the cartoons they watch on "Palestinian" TV.

I've seen it and heard it with my own eyes and ears. Not once, but many times.

I'm talking about hatred ON A SCALE that Western minds cannot even understand or conceive.

But never, in my wildest moments, have I contemplated BLOWING MYSELF TO BITS just so I can inflict harm on others - even those who, at the time, I hated most.

(By God's Grace I've since FORGIVEN all of them).

But THAT EXTREME UGLINESS AND EVIL is to what these precious children would be subjected, and to what they ARE BEING subjected.

Even at that young age, the concept of what the satanic religion of Islam calls "martyrdom" (shahada) is instilled into boys and girls, along with a degree of SHEER HATE that is unfathomable.

Their young hearts and minds POISONED with religious venom, which is THE WORST kind that exists.

There's even Scripture that gives some meaning and context to this grim situation:

(And, before someone sends me a stupid email: NO, I am NOT in favor of KILLING CHILDREN).

Psalm 137:8-9

"O daughter of Babylon, WHO ARE TO BE DESTROYED; happy shall he be, that rewards you as you have served us.

Happy shall he be, that takes AND DASHES YOUR LITTLE ONES AGAINST THE STONES".

ALL CHILDREN who die before the "age of accountability", regardless of ethnicity, go to heaven, by the Grace of God.

In heaven, all their traumatic experiences from this temporary existence are wiped out, and they experience indescribably glorious bliss forever.

My point is simply this: we tend to focus only on the physical suffering, to the neglect of the spiritual, emotional and psychological abuse to which these poor kids are subjected UNDER THAT HIDEOUS, TERRORIST, SATANIC REGIME.

I don't know about you, but given the choice of dying as a small child and going into Jesus' Presence, or dying as a terrorist "martyr" later, and GOING STRAIGHT TO HELL, I'd choose the first.

Neither is a "happy" choice from earth's perspective.

But one is FAR BETTER THAN the other from heaven's perspective.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 2014

"LOST BOOKS" OF THE BIBLE

Here's the Truth about the supposed "lost books" of the Bible:

They were NEVER "of the Bible", nor were they ever "lost".

The entire New Testament, from Matthew to Revelation, was written in the FIRST CENTURY A.D., soon after Jesus' death and resurrection.

The apocrypha (or deuterocanonical) books like Maccabees are NOT divinely inspired. Hence, they are NOT part of the SACRED TEXT and DO NOT belong in the Bible.

They're valuable HISTORIC sources which fill in some important details about what happened in and to Israel during the four centuries that separate the Old and New Testaments.

For that reason, they are INCLUDED in some Bibles, but are usually labeled as "Apocrypha".

The pseudepigrapha (books with FALSE titles) are neither divinely inspired, nor written by the people they're named after. They were written MUCH LATER THAN the Sacred Text.

They most definitely ARE NOT part of sacred Scripture.

For instance, the so-called "Gospel of Thomas" couldn't have been written by the apostle Thomas, who lived in the first century, since this book was written late in the second century, long after Thomas had died.

Other false books with FALSE titles and FALSE authors include the so-called "Gospel of Judas", a damnable heresy if there ever was one, the so-called "Gospel of Peter", the so-called "Books of Adam and Eve" and the "Acts of Phillip".

These books often CONTRADICT God's Holy Word, and CONTRADICT the New Testament: To put it bluntly, they are HERETICAL.

I advise every Christian to study the New Testament deeply, and LEARN THE NEW TESTAMENT, WHICH IS THE INSPIRED, INFALLIBLE WORD OF GOD, before they launch into reading something by a false author, with a false title, containing false information which will CONFUSE them, CONTRADICTS God's holy, inspired Word and sends people to hell.

Lest anyone misunderstand, the Old Testament is God's Word, too. However, we're no longer living under the Old Testament, but under the New. The New Testament has REPLACED the Old, which became obsolete when Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Luke 16:16).

There WERE NO CHRISTIANS UNDER the Old Testament.

Repeat: THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A "CHRISTIAN" UNDER THE OLD TESTAMENT.

Therefore, those who insist in STILL living under the Old Testament are UNSAVED and ARE NOT REAL Christians... I don't care WHAT they call themselves.

The Old Testament has never saved a single soul. The NEW Testament has saved billions and is still saving them.

REAL Christians are found ONLY in the New Testament. REAL Christians LIVE ONLY UNDER the New Testament.

And there's NOTHING missing from the Bible.

So every time you see a catalog that offers "lost books of the Bible", or see some sensationalist TV show with ENEMIES OF CHRIST posing as "scholars" touting these books as "banned", or some YouTube video that offers "secret" or "forbidden" information about the Bible, IT'S PURE TRASH.

That's NOT the Word of God, NEVER has been, and NEVER will be.

God has NEVER lost anyone or anything that BELONGS to Him (John 18:9; 2 Timothy 1:12).

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2014

PROOF OF THE RESURRECTION

"If Christ has not risen, your faith is IN VAIN" (1 Corinthians 15:17)

Contrary to what most people think, there is AMPLE PROOF of Jesus' Resurrection.

That's right: although belief in Jesus' Resurrection DOES REQUIRE faith (trust) in Him and in the FACT that He rose from the dead, our God and Savior did not leave us without evidence.

On the contrary:

1. There's the fact that over 500 individuals SAW HIM resurrected after His Crucifixion AT THE SAME TIME (1 Corinthians 15:5-7).

All it takes in a court of law to establish proof, beyond reasonable doubt, is two witnesses, sometimes JUST ONE.

We have over 500!!!

2. There's the UNDENIABLE, HISTORIC FACT that these people were SO CONVINCED of His Resurrection and Deity, that they would RATHER DIE than deny it.

Would you be willing TO DIE - let alone by some pretty horrible means - for something YOU KNOW is A LIE?

Wouldn't you rather admit it was all a hoax, and SAVE YOUR SKIN?

3. There's Paul, a rabid PERSECUTOR of Christians who, unexpectedly, saw Jesus "as He IS" and, IN AN INSTANT, was transformed from hate-filled Saul of Tarsus to the Apostle Paul and greatest preacher of the Christian faith in history.

4. There's Jesus' own PREDICTION that He would bet put to death and rise three days and nights later (Matthew 12:40; 16:21).

Anyone who's read Jesus' words knows He was FAR FROM stupid. His Wisdom, and the sheer loftiness of His teachings, are unmatched and unparalleled.

Had He been merely one more "religious leader" or "great philosopher", His teachings COULD HAVE STOOD ON THEIR OWN MERIT.

Why, then, would He be SO STUPID as to make His ENTIRE MISSION and CREDIBILITY CONTINGENT ON RISING FROM THE DEAD?

Something that NO OTHER HUMAN in history has EVER claimed?

Either He's God, who KNEW He could and would rise from the dead, or the DUMBEST guy who ever lived.

5. There's the empty tomb.

Had Jesus' dead corpse been exposed on the 4th day following His pivotal Crucifixion, He would have been PROVEN a liar, and there would be NO CHRISTIANS today.

Anyone who's been to first century Jerusalem (affectionately known today as the Old City) and seen JUST HOW TINY it was and is, would have to scratch his or her head to even try to explain - APART FROM Resurrection - how Jesus' body could simply DISAPPEAR.

How could His dead body be placed in a SEALED tomb, with a huge rock blocking the entrance, after His TERRIFIED and CONFUSED disciples had fled and gone into hiding (except John), a 'round the clock ARMED Roman guard posted on the outside, and ALL OF A SUDDEN - three days later, EXACTLY AS HE SAID - His tomb is OPEN and His body is... GONE.

To this day, NO ONE - Jew or Gentile - can adequately explain the Empty Tomb. And I DARE ANYONE to try.

All the "books" that have been written, and "movies" that have been made, by atheists and skeptics in their futile attempts to disprove Truth - which is IMPOSSIBLE - have been forgotten and relegated to the trash heap of failed human stupidity.

6. But there's EVEN MORE PROOF that Jesus rose from the dead and IS ALIVE:

YOU.

Don't look so shocked...

Yes, YOU ARE PROOF of Jesus' Resurrection.

If YOU are born-again, that means that YOU have THE RISEN, LIVING JESUS, WHO LIVES FOREVERMORE, living INSIDE YOU... always!

The fact that HE LIVES IN US, the fact that He LIVES and MANIFESTS through us, IS PERHAPS THE GREATEST PROOF of His Resurrection there is.

We (you and I) ARE Jesus, the collective Body of Christ, on this earth.

Each of us, though we do a lousy job at the moment of showing it, are INDIVIDUAL MANIFESTATIONS OF Christ the Divine.

YOU are LIVING PROOF that Jesus rose from the dead and LIVES FOREVER...

Because He LIVES IN YOU.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2014

THIRD TEMPLE: WHEN, WHERE & HOW

If you Google "third temple", you'll find there are around 14 MILLION blogs and websites with every imaginable theory on how, when and where it will be built.

Not to mention about 250,000 YouTube videos saying either that it's already being built (if it is, it must be invisible), or naming everyone from an "Islamic Antichrist", to the Illuminati, to the Freemasons, to the Vatican, to the Israeli government, as builder.

There are fabulous theories about Israel using some mysterious method to gradually dissolve either the Dome of the Rock or the Al Aqsa Mosque so it can build the temple on its location.

Others CONJECTURE that its reconstruction will be part of the INVENTED, UNBIBLICAL "7-year peace treaty" and that it will be what triggers what they call "World War III".

What all the theories have in common is THEY ARE NOT BIBLICAL.

This past Sunday, August 3rd (Av 7) Rabbi Chaim Richman, Director of the Temple Institute in Jerusalem, wrote an article in the Jerusalem Post stating:

"This is how the Third Temple will be rebuilt. When we see how the nation of Israel, WITH ITS COLLECTIVE, INTUITIVE WISDOM AND PURE FAITH, is PEACEFULLY CHANGING THE FACTS ON THE GROUND, we can understand how, after such a Tishrei, Mar Heshvan is anything but drab... it is laden with promise and potential, because the best is yet to come.

We can understand how the Jewish people will see to it that Hashem will keep His promise to the month of Heshvan, with the dedication of the new Holy Temple, which will bring about the resting of the Divine Presence AND THE ULTIMATE HEALING OF ALL MANKIND. This is the plain and simple meaning of this enigmatic Midrashic teaching: IF WE WILL IT, IT WILL BE".

I like the rabbi, I respect the rabbi, I enjoy some of his teachings. But EVEN HE FAILS TO quote Scripture and is forced to resort to some fantastic story from the Talmud about one month supposedly being "jealous" of another.

He is TOTALLY WRONG.

There won't be a "dedication" of the third temple on Mar Heshvan or ANY OTHER MONTH.

The third temple will be DESECRATED by Antichrist, who will place the Abomination of Desolation on its altar of sacrifice, EVEN BEFORE IT IS COMPLETED (Matthew 24:15).

Needless to say, it won't be a happy occasion.

I can now CATEGORICALLY state, based on Scripture, that he will enter the temple on Tisha B'Av, the most somber day on the Hebrew calendar, that commemorates the destruction of the two previous temples (Daniel 8:13-14), and place the Abomination there sometime after.

Furthermore, the theory that "IF WE WILL IT, IT WILL BE" sounds nice, and may have worked for Theodore Herzl in connection to the eventual birth of the State of Israel, but WILL POWER WILL NOT get the third temple built: the Two Witnesses and the start of the tribulation is what'll do the trick (Revelation 11:1-3).

Since the rabbi does not believe in the Brit Hadasha (New Testament) HE LACKS THE ADVANTAGE OF understanding the Book of Revelation, where these things are disclosed.

He is forced, therefore, to base his SPECULATION on a fictitious anecdote from the uninspired Talmud, rather than on God's inspired, infallible Word of Prophecy.

The answers to the building of the third temple are:

WHEN: At the start of the tribulation, and while the 5th trumpet first woe is still going on.

That's when Revelation 11:1 clearly instructs John in a vision to "MEASURE the temple and the altar".

Measurements are always taken JUST PRIOR to establishing the FOUNDATION of a structure. In other words, JUST PRIOR to building.

WHERE: On Mount Moriah, just south of the so-called "Temple Mount".

The "Temple Mount" is NOT the real location of the former temples. It is the location of the former Antonia Fortress built by Herod and named after his friend Mark Antony.

The third temple will be built JUST SOUTH of Al Aqsa, while the Dome of the Rock (Haram al Sharif) and the Al Aqsa still stand at the former Fort Antonia.

According to Ezekiel 43:6-9, God's temple will be separated from their idol temple ONLY BY A WALL.

That wall ALREADY EXISTS (see picture below).

When the Two Witnesses are resurrected, on Yom Kippur, 3½ days after their PHYSICAL demise, and as they ASCEND TO HEAVEN, God will send a quake that will topple both the Dome and the Al Aksa, along with the Abomination of Desolation (statue of Antichrist) erected on the altar of sacrifice (Revelation 11:13).

HOW:By the testimony of Two Witnesses, says the Torah, will every matter be established (Deuteronomy 19:15).

The Two Witnesses will show the CORRECT location on Mount Moriah where the former temples were built, on the former threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, purchased by King David.

They will instruct builders on where to lay its foundation, and immediately begin prophesying in its vicinity for 1,260 days (Revelation 11:3).

Their supernatural powers will WARD OFF any Arab resistance, or any opposition by any person or group (Revelation 11:5-6).

And Alex will not interfere, since he plans to ENTER THAT temple, sit there as God, probably on top of a FAKE "Ark of the Covenant", and proclaim himself God on Tisha B'Av (2 Thessalonians 2:4).

As his successor and predecessor Antiochus Epiphanes did, Alexander the Antichrist will place the Abomination of Desolation (a statue of himself) on the altar of sacrifice.

It is then that Jews in Jerusalem and surroundings will "flee to the mountains" as they did in 167 B.C., when the first Abomination of Desolation took place.

The Good News is that the Abomination will stand for 1,150 days, then be toppled.

The even better news is that the third temple will be replaced with a magnificent fourth (and final) Temple, built by God, from where He will reign during the Millennium (Ezekiel chapters 40-44).

MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2014

YOU NEED TO KNOW

There are certain facts in life that are simply TOO IMPORTANT for us to ignore.

There are certain things that you absolutely NEED TO KNOW:

1. You need to know that you are loved UNCONDITIONALLY.

That's right.

No matter WHAT you've done, are doing, or will do, SOMEONE LOVES YOU UNCONDITIONALLY (John 6:37).

2. That Someone wants to FORGIVE YOU and CLEANSE YOU OF ALL sin and wrong-doing (Hebrews 8:12).

He wants to give you a NEW lease on life.

He wants to give you A NEW START, A NEW LIFE, with A CLEAN SLATE.

3. He wants to expunge your record of all wrong doing so that, if anyone wants to look you up, it will say THAT YOU'VE NEVER DONE ANY THING WRONG -- in your entire life! (2 Corinthians 5:19)

4. He wants to CREDIT YOU WITH HIS OWN PERFECT RIGHTEOUSNESS, so your record will say that YOU ARE AS PERFECT AS HE IS (2 Corinthians 5:21).

5. He wants to give you a glorious Destiny (Romans 8:18)

He wants to give you ETERNAL Life (John 3:16-17).

He wants to share His very Nature and Deity with you.

6. He wants to give you THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL: Himself.

7. Best of all, He's done ALL THE WORK (Hebrews 9:12).

There's absolutely NOTHING left for you to do because He has ALREADY DONE EVERYTHING NECESSARY to give you ALL THESE splendid gifts.

8. The only role you play in this whole deal is OPENING YOUR HEART and RECEIVING THE GIFT.

Who is this Someone?

The One who LOVED YOU SO MUCH that He was willing TO DIE in your stead (Revelation 13:8).

The Gift is Jesus Himself.

HE, and ONLY HE, took away the sin of the world (John 1:29)

HE, and ONLY HE, PAID THE PRICE to buy you back, lock, stock and barrel.

You COMPLETELY belong to Him because He bought you with His own Blood (1 Peter 1:18-19).

However, Jesus doesn't want a bunch of slaves.

He wants SONS and DAUGHTERS.

Even though He paid THE HIGHEST PRICE IMAGINABLE to get you back, He WON'T FORCE YOU to receive Him.

Therefore, you have the right TO REJECT HIS GIFT.

But if you do, you really need to have your head - and heart -- examined.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 3, 2014

ENJOY THEM WHILE YOU CAN

If you think worshiping idols of wood and stone is a thing of the past...

If you think that such practice is relegated to the Old Testament...

THINK AGAIN.

Today we worship idols of STEEL, GLASS AND CEMENT.

I'm referring to those buildings INCORRECTLY called "churches" that are worshiped throughout Christendom.

I don't care WHAT denomination Christians belong to, they worship those buildings.

Many have been BRAINWASHED into thinking that, UNLESS they go to those buildings, they can't talk to God, can't be heard by God, can't hear from God, or commune with God.

And here's CONCRETE PROOF of that (no pun intended):

Every time I even "touch" those buildings in these messages, we get a flood of feedback from either "offended" Christians or dumb Christians "DEFENDING" the INDEFENSIBLE.

Had Jesus wanted us to erect such buildings HE WOULD HAVE TOLD US.

Again: we have not one, not two, but FOUR Gospels in the Bible.

Had Jesus wanted His followers to erect such buildings, HE WOULD HAVE TOLD US.

I hereby DARE any individual to produce ONE verse from the New Testament where Jesus COMMANDS ANYONE to erect Him a building, let alone 10 million of them.

What Jesus SPECIFICALLY COMMANDED us was NOT TO HIDE our light "under a bushel", but to put it WHERE IT WAS VISIBLE TO EVERYONE (Matthew 5:14-16).

And what has Christianism done?

Exactly what Jesus told us NOT TO DO: Put our Light under a bushel by RETREATING into those fortresses - that NO SINNER IN NEED OF CHRIST would dare enter -- AND HIDING there.

Jesus SPECIFICALLY COMMANDED US TO "go INTO ALL THE WORLD" (Mark 16:15).

And what have we done?

We HID from all the world in the aforementioned buildings, where NO ONE CAN SEE what little Light we have.

It's NO WONDER, then, that instead of going INTO the world, as Jesus commanded, THE WORLD HAS GONE INTO US...

To the point that believers and unbelievers are virtually INDISTINGUISHABLE.

Worse, some Christians have been brainwashed into thinking that, UNLESS they go to those buildings, they CANNOT BE "good Christians" and CANNOT have "right standing" with God.

It must be that those buildings, then, HAVE MORE POWER TO MAKE US RIGHTEOUS than the Blood of Jesus!!!

That, in turn, makes those buildings "gods":

In other words, ABOMINABLE IDOLS.

Jesus' congregation rivaled that of any modern mega-church in numbers. And WHERE did they meet? In the open air. Or in individual homes. Period (Matthew 14:15-21; Mark 2:1-5).

What's good enough for Jesus, should be good enough for us. With all the public parks, beaches, unused public land, and large, comfortable homes we have in America, think of all the money we'd save.

Think how easy it would be to reach the world: after all, the unsaved would love to join us in a friendly game of volley ball or baseball after worship. Or, we could share some sandwiches, pie, and potato salad with them.

They would see our light shine and would more than likely end up getting saved.

But I'm a realist. I'm well aware that those buildings INCORRECTLY called "churches" ARE HERE TO STAY.

At least until God DESTROYS EVERY ONE OF THEM during the tribulation.

That's right, all those monuments erected for the glory of your denomination, or for the glory (not to mention the bottom line) of your pastor's financial statement, OR BOTH, will be decimated and DEMOLISHED by NONE OTHER than God.

The VERY God we CLAIM to "worship" there.

So, if you like or worship those buildings, enjoy them while you can.

Because God WILL DESTROY from the tiniest of them to the largest of them (Revelation 16:17-19; 17:16).

"Can you recall a time WHEN THERE WAS SO MUCH TROUBLE IN SO MANY PLACES around the world?"

This from a man who has spent the past 45 years of his life as news reporter (he's 77) who has seen it all and heard it all, from the Cold War to the Cuban Missile Crisis, to Vietnam, to the collapse of the Soviet Union, to the Gulf War to Desert Storm.

To put it in biblical terms, the birth pangs are intensifying.

As birth pangs go, they will happen at sooner intervals, and get stronger and stronger.

Matthew 24:4-8 is being fulfilled WITH AWESOME PRECISION, right before our eyes.

So is Revelation 6:9-11, as ultra-barbaric terrorist organization ISIS does what it wants,TOTALLY UNDETERRED, and thousands of our Christian brothers and sisters are being butchered, beheaded, crucified, have their property confiscated, are forced to convert to Islam, forced into exile, while Washington DOES nothing, SAYS nothing, and our President saunters from one fundraiser to another.

What A SHAME that Secretary of State John Kerry is not as forceful or vocal ABOUT PROTECTING INNOCENT CHRISTIANS, as he is about DEFENDING terrorist Hamas.

Christians ARE BEING ETHNICALLY CLEANSED from Iraq, WITHOUT ANY REPRIEVE, or "humanitarian" breaks, as those being afforded EVIL, HARD-CORE TERRORISTS in Gaza whose very charter calls for THE DESTRUCTION OF our closest ally Israel, and for death to all Jews.

And, make no mistake, IF they ever managed to destroy Israel, WHO DO YOU THINK THEIR NEXT TARGET WOULD BE?

The United States of America who is STUPIDLY defending them, and PRESSURING ISRAEL to allow Hamas to regroup, re-arm, and dig more tunnels so they can keep abducting and murdering innocent civilians.

Of course, we know that God, in His great mercy, WILL NOT ALLOW the destruction of His Chosen People (Jeremiah 31:35-36).

I don't know about you, but right now and for the first time in my life, I am ASHAMED and REPULSED by our so-called political "leaders".

Jesus said "he that is NOT with me, is AGAINST ME" (Matthew 12:30).

Israel's enemies are God's enemies.

Those who stand for and defend Israel's enemies, are ANTI-God and ANTI-Christ.

Pray for our leaders to repent and get divine wisdom: because it's only a matter of time before the BIRTH PANGS DIRECTLY REACH US.